Kenny Pickett had a very nice week in Mobile, Alabama. And very well may have cemented himself as a top-10 pick.
I spoke to three top evaluators for teams all very much in need of a new starting quarterback, most likely to pursue that end through the draft if possible, and all three said essentially the same thing: Pickett is the most consistent and more ready QB in this draft, and he is quite likely going to be the first selected after a strong week of work at the Senior Bowl.
“Coming off last week, you’d have to say that he’s the guy,” said one NFC evaluator with a long and strong history of selecting quarterbacks.
“Pickett was the best of the bunch,” said another NFC top executive. “I’m not sure it was all that close. He had a good week. There is a lot to like about him.”
Indeed, while we can obsess about hand size and such, the kid has a nice body of work at the college level, his hands didn’t bother him playing in the elements at Pitt, he has a tremendous makeup, there are no character or off-field concerns and he rose to the occasion with the scouting world watching last week. It wasn’t a tour de force or anything like that, just more than enough to cement himself as the safest call as the first quarterback to go in this draft, and to do so in the top third of the first round.
In fact, several evaluators said that they could see him going in the top five, possibly, or very close to it. At a time in which DeShaun Watson’s future is as murky as ever, and some in ownership circles believe his criminal and civil situation might end up being even more of a cause for concern than what is presently know, one of the former Pro Bowl QB’s top former suitors is already being strongly connected to Pickett now, so early in this process.
Word is, the Carolina Panthers are taking a strong shine to Pickett, which makes sense on multiple levels. The Panthers own the No. 6 pick.
“I don’t think he makes it past the Panthers,” said one evaluator who has done extensive work on Pickett. “Their owner (David Tepper) is a huge Pitt booster. He hasn’t invested draft capital in a quarterback yet. He has to know the Steelers like him (Tepper is a former minority investor in the Steelers). I think that’s a fit.”
One AFC scout said: “We think he’s going to Carolina. That where I would mock him.”
Again, it’s very early here. We’ll see what happens at the combine and on individual visits and such. But with some of this quarterback class dealing with injuries, or the aftermath of injuries, and few of them coming off truly standout seasons, this could be one of those years that plays out where the consensus top guy coming off the Senior Bowl ends up going top of the class.
Right not that certainly looks like Pickett.
Willis shows skills, may get ‘over-drafted’
Malik Willis of Liberty didn’t hurt his cause, either. Yes, his week was more up and down, but he is a bit more of a feast or famine prospect. And his highs seemed to be high enough to swirl up more interest.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder a bit, and Liberty isn’t exactly the biggest of the big time settings for college football, but Willis more than held his own against the best in this draft class and he has the ability to do some things physically that the others cannot.
“He did just enough to probably get someone to over-draft him,” as one evaluator put it. “He can charm you with some of the things he can do. But I’m not totally sold.”
Another scout said: “He is a playmaker, but it’s what happens between those big plays that makes you worry some.”
Given the construct of this group – with few if any sure things and questions abounding about all the prospects – Willis is likely to continue to rise. His athleticism will shine through at the combine and his pro day, and in the right hands he could be someone who blossoms a few years from now in a really big way. I like what I saw from the young man and hope he is lucky enough to be “over-drafted” (i.e. pushed up draft boards more because of the need at the position than by the individual’s readiness to start) by a shrewd franchise that already has a stable veteran in place and isn’t in a hurry to make the investment pay off on game day.
Him landing in a Jordan Love-type scenario – minus Aaron Rodgers‘s ranting and ravings – would be ideal. But of course he can’t control that.
Strong remains a mystery
Even some of the evaluators I know who are the highest on Nevada quarterback Carson Strong thought he had a very uneven week. Strong’s medicals will be imperative, as he already has a history of serious knee issues, and he was clearly working through some rust in Mobile. As would be expected. We’ll see how sharp he gets as we move through the process. “Not a great week for him, although I’m not quite sure how much that means for him,” said one exec who watched him very closely. “I don’t really know how much you could have expected at this point.”
A year after clashing with top pass rusher Chandler Jones, the Cardinals find themselves on Kyler Murray’s bleep list, potentially. No way the QB scrubbed the team from his social media as an accident; he was making a point. He and his head coach figured around the middle of the season they were heading for huge paydays. I could certainly see why ownership would want to play it out with both of them, and string it out, but that is some tricky terrain for to-this-point-Teflon GM Steve Keim to navigate. He’s been quite the survivor to this point, but he’s on his third coach, and I’ve lost count of how many QBs, with precious little to show for it, and Keim has pretty much put the last two coaching staffs together himself. Makes you think the fates of all three would be intertwined with 2022 massive for their futures there.
More insider notes
- Anyone who still thought the Dolphins might only be lukewarm on Tua Tagovailoa should know better by now. It was no accident that the team recorded and tweeted new coach Mike McDaniel calling the QB on his flight to Miami to officially take the job. It felt a little bit staged and forced, and perhaps over the top, but I get it. Owner Stephen Ross branded this hire as being about getting the most out of Tua, and pledged his allegiance to a QB who his former coach Brian Flores never seemed totally all-in on. So the initial social media blitz makes sense to reinforce that message …
- It was always going to take some amazing interview by an outside candidate to turn the Saints away from promoting defensive coordinator Dennis Allen to head coach. That team is all about its defense, desperately needs that unit to remain top notch to have a chance to compete, and Allen was well liked and respected by ownership, the front office and the locker room. I suspect this is a much more successful stint for him than was his brief tenure in Oakland, and all along said take Allen over the field. In the eyes of those who matter most, he has more than earned the opportunity to replace departed Sean Payton …
- Beware the hype train about some NFL coaches – a lot of people out there would have told you that Joe Brady and Kellen Moore were sure things to be NFL head coaches in 2022. Not so fast. Both are plenty young, with abundant time on their side, so it makes you wonder some in the media and on broadcast teams push so hard to go over the top to tell you how ready they are. Some of those rolls need to be slowed …
- I have a feeling the loss of Josh McDaniels is going to sting the Patriots, perhaps significantly.
