Kenny Pickett leads Pitt hopefuls into 3-day NFL Draft

There were 13 Pitt players who worked out for representatives from 31 NFL teams at Pitt’s Pro Day on March 21.

The large number of hopefuls isn’t surprising. Most college players dream of playing in the NFL, and putting on a show for the scouts — and in some cases head coaches, offensive coordinators and general managers — is the best way to kick-start those hopes.

Many of those 13 players won’t get drafted during the three-day proceedings that get underway Thursday night, although a majority will receive free-agent contracts and invitations to tryout camps.

Pitt won the ACC championship, but the roster was stuffed with players who ended the season with eligibility remaining and will be targets in the 2023 draft.

Kenny Pickett is expected to be a first-round draft choice and, possibly, the first quarterback chosen. But trying to determine where he might land — from No. 2 overall to No. 32 — depends on whose opinion you favor.

In recent weeks, there’s been less talk about Pickett’s smallish hands — they grew 1/8th of an inch during the off-season to 8⁵⁄₈ — and more about his possible readiness to assume command of an NFL offense, perhaps as early as this season.

The Carolina Panthers sent an entourage to Pitt’s Pro Day to dissect Pickett in coach Matt Rhule, offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo and general manager Scott Fitterer.

The Panthers might be in the market for a quarterback — Sam Darnold was underwhelming in his injury-plagued 2021 season — but they also are equally in need of an offensive tackle and more draft choices. After making the sixth overall selection, they don’t pick again until the fourth round (No. 137).

So Panthers owner and billionaire hedge fund manager David Tepper will want his people to get it right.

And just because Tepper has an economics degree from Pitt and an MBA from Carnegie Mellon doesn’t mean he’s necessarily partial to players with Pittsburgh ties.

Of course, it also doesn’t preclude the Panthers from taking Pickett at No. 6 or trading down to get more picks while still keeping alive the possibility of snatching the Pitt quarterback.

In any case, there’s a good chance Pickett will be Pitt’s first first-round draft choice since Aaron Donald went to the Rams in 2014 — when they were still in St. Louis. Pitt hasn’t had a quarterback taken in the first round since Dan Marino in 1983.

After Pickett finally finds a home, former Pitt cornerback Damarri Mathis should be selected by the end of the third round or into the fourth, maybe even a bit sooner because he was outstanding at Pro Day.

Mathis will be the sixth Pitt defensive back drafted since 2018, joining Jordan Whitehead, Avonte Maddox, Jason Pinnock, Dane Jackson and Damar Hamlin. That says something for Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi insisting on his cornerbacks playing one-on-one, press-man coverage that many NFL teams prefer.

Tight end Lucas Krull hopes to escape from the shadows — he wasn’t invited to the NFL Combine — and become the first Pitt tight end drafted since Dorin Dickerson and Nate Byham in 2010.

Also working out for the pros were long snapper Cal Adomitis, punter Kirk Christodoulou, wide receivers Taysir Mack, Tre Tipton and Melquise Stovall, offensive lineman Keldrick Wilson, defensive lineman Keyshon Camp and linebackers Phil Campbell III, John Petrishen and Chase Pine.

Among that group, Petrishen (6-foot-1, 225 pounds) could be a late-round choice or good value as a free agent. Petrishen, a Central Catholic graduate, has played safety at Penn State and linebacker at Pitt, where he filled up his stat line last season with 74 tackles, 7.5 TFLs, 4.5 sacks, two quarterback hurries and three interceptions. Plus, he recorded a 38 ½-inch vertical leap, 4.55 40-yard dash and 20 reps of the 225-pound bench press at Pitt’s Pro Day.

“People said I could run myself into the draft with my numbers,” he said at the end of the day. “I talked to a lot of teams. They said they like me a lot.”

Petrishen, who will turn 26 on June 1, doesn’t seem like a player who will let a big stage hinder his performance.

“I was telling my dad, it’s probably the most important interview of my life,” he said of Pro Day. “You know, doing this in front of everybody. I kind of like having all eyes on me. It gives me more adrenaline. It gets me excited. I had a lot of fun.”

Petrishen also might be uniquely qualified to give an opinion on Pickett. He has been both friend and foe.

“I showed Kenny my notes on him (when Penn State was preparing to play Pitt),” he said. “What I thought of him. We laughed about that.”

Of course, Pickett improved his game significantly since the last Pitt/Penn State game in 2019. Pickett threw 39 touchdown passes in his first four seasons, 42 in 13 games last year.

“He’s grown so much as a player,” Petrishen said. “It’s been really cool to see that first-hand. All it really takes is one great season to become a household name.”