Pickett’s ‘charge’ up draft boards … I’m sorry, but just couldn’t resist! But whether you want to call it a ‘charge’ or not, there has been a growing buzz around the NFL in the past week to ten days that Pittsburgh QB Kenny Pickett is suddenly a guy to watch for the 2022 draft. And that buzz evolved into something of a crescendo after he checked off all the boxes in Saturday’s key ACC win over Clemson and its top-ranked defense. Pickett is actually a 5th year senior – and 4-year starter – at Pitt who’s been a solid enough college QB until this year, but like Joe Burrow a couple of years back has just blown up this year; indeed, Pickett is currently 4th in the country in passing efficiency as he has completed almost 70% of his pass attempts this fall including 23 for TDs against just one pick while throwing for over 320 yards per game. Whether that’s enough to vault him to the top of the QB rankings remains to be seen, but we spent the past few hours breaking down the tape from the Panthers’ win and saw a lot to like in Pickett.
The first thing that kind of jumps out at you about Pickett on tape is how active he is in the pocket. He seems to have that innate awareness of what is going on around him in the pocket; he’s also decisive in the pocket whether its to take off or get rid of the ball; he also has the quickness to evade trouble and reset his feet; he also throws extremely well on the run. For good measure, Pickett is also a threat to run outright with just enough to speed to get to the corner and the strength to break tackles in the open field. In fact, the first thing that most college coaches mention when they talk about Pickett is how tough he is; indeed, he’s not all shy about putting his head down and battling for extra yards if he needs to to get a first down.
Pickett has a very quick release on underneath passes and puts the ball where it has to be, although he will be a little high at times; he also does a nice job reading the coverage and will pick away at mismatches. Pickett also can get the ball downfield with authority, although he does seem to have something of an elongated release when going downfield.
Bottom line is that Pickett checked off almost all the boxes so far this year. He’s experiernced, smart, tough, and instinctive with all the leadership intangibles scouts look for in a first-round QB. He can also make all the throws with decent arm strength; however, the one question we have about Pickett is whether he has the kind of elite arm strength that separates young passers like Mahomes, Herbert and Allen.
