Kenny Pickett had a professional day at the University of Pittsburgh on Monday. That there were eagles, as did the Panthers, who received the sixth overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, the Falcons (No. 8), and the Seahawks (No. 9). The previous Sunday, Pickett had meetings with the Steelers (No. 20), Seahawks, Titans (No. 26), a whole host of people from the Washington Commanders (No. 11), Saints (No. 18) and the Eagles (No. 15, No. 16 and #19) were the last.
One thing to squash: No NFL team asked the 6-foot-3, 217-pound standout Pitt about his arm size, and they didn’t ask Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi.
“No one asks Kenny and no one asks me about his hand size, there is no coach, no CEO, no scout who would even say a word about the size of Kenny’s hand,” Narduzzi said. “This is a matter for the media, as we thought. The Eagles are clearly interested. Many teams are interested. He may not make it out of the top six.”
Instead of entering the draft last year, Pickett decided to return to school. This turned out to be a profitable choice. Pickett won the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm, was named an Associated Press Second Team All-American, ACC Player of the Year and Offensive Player of the Year, and was a finalist for the Heisman Award along with Walter Camp’s Maxwell Award. Player of the Year and Davey O’Brien Award.
Pickett brought Pitt football back to national prominence with a record-setting year, throwing 47 touchdowns, leading the Panthers to their first ACC championship. He ranked sixth in FBS with a school-high 4,319 passing yards and fourth with 334 passing yards (497 attempts, 67.2 percent); among them with an ACC record of 42 passing touchdowns against seven interceptions. He also broke Pitt’s career records for passing yards (12,303) and NFL Hall of Famer Dan Marino’s record for touchdown passes (81).
“Kenny showed everything, he has talent, courage, legs, arms, he is a complete set,” Narduzzi said. “There are other quarterbacks who are good players, but there is no one more complete than Kenny Pickett. I had a bunch of scouts who told me that there is no one more competitive than Kenny Pickett. I would be shocked if another quarterback was selected ahead of him (in the NFL Draft).
“All these NFL teams are throwing smokescreens like they love certain guys and it’s like poker, right? No one has a poker face when it comes to Kenny. Several scouts told me that there is no one (in this draft) more prepared than Kenny. I had one grandmaster who told me they were seeing Kenny go number 6 to Carolina. Kenny is a leader, the guys rally around him, and he will make everyone around him better.
According to Narduzzi, Pickett is a vocal leader who, when he speaks, people listen.
“When you think of leadership, you think of Kenny,” Narduzzi said. “Kenny Pickett is going to make someone a very good quarterback and he will be there for the next 10 years. Eagles are interested. But like I said, a lot of teams are interested.”
Pickett, who is projected to make it to No. 6 in the Carolinas before the early 20s, about where the Steelers pick, may not be there when the Eagles pick No. 15. Or will Eagles general manager Howie Roseman handle it? another deal to move forward and get it?
This is really someone’s guess as the NFL Draft on Thursday, April 28 draws near.
Joseph Santoliquito is an award-winning Philadelphia-based sportswriter who has written feature stories for SI.com, ESPN.com, NFL.com, MLB.com, Deadspin, and The Philadelphia Daily News. In 2006, he was nominated for an Emmy Award for a special project for ESPN.com called Love at First Signal. He is best known for his award-winning ESPN.com feature on high school student A.J. Detweiler in February 2006, which appeared on SportsCenter. In 2015, he was elected President of the Boxing Writers Association of America.