On Monday, Pittsburgh quarterback Kenny Pickett — one of the top quarterback prospects in the 2022 NFL draft — held his pro day for scouts and evaluators. It marked the start of a three-day stretch of pro days featuring some of the best signal-callers in the class. On Tuesday, all eyes will focus in on Liberty’s Malik Willis, and Wednesday will give us a look at Ole Miss’ Matt Corral, who has been recovering from an ankle injury. I’ll be on hand at all three workouts for one last chance to see these QBs throw.
But we start with Pickett, who looked great throwing the football during his workout session. He has the chance to be the top quarterback off the board in April, and he is currently my No. 2 QB prospect. And for those wondering, his hand size — which has been a big talking point over the past two months in the lead-up to the draft — measured 8 5/8 inches at his pro day, a bit bigger than it did at the combine.
Here are some of my big takeaways from Pickett’s pro day workout and what comes next for the talented quarterback. Check back this week for pro day takeaways for Willis and Corral.
Ranking: No. 22 (QB2)
Pickett has the arm strength
To be clear, arm strength has not been a real concern for Pickett. But it also has never been a standout trait. Watching tape, you wonder if he has the arm to play in every NFL system or if he’s a better fit for a West Coast scheme. Can he drive the ball and make all the throws?
Well, Pickett made a point to show he can at his pro day. Quarterbacks normally work up to the deep throws toward the end of their workout scripts. They will hit the intermediate throws for the majority of the session before airing it out at the end. But Pickett jumped right in with a vertical shot on his fifth or sixth throw, connecting on a pass thrown 57 yards downfield. He had roughly 10 throws from within the confines of the pocket that traveled 55-plus yards in the air. (He also mixed in a great deal of middle-of-the-field passes.)
I talked to Pickett for a bit after he finished throwing for the day, and he said that was the main focus for the day. He didn’t want to leave any doubt among evaluators that he has the arm to hit every throw asked of him.
I saw three of his games live over his career, and I’ve watched probably 40 of his 49 career starts on tape. But this was still a really good setting to see arm strength in particular, standing nearby on the field as he released the ball. I’m looking to see how much zip is on the ball from release until the time the ball arrives at the target. Is it coming off his hand with velocity? Are the passes sailing or dying at the end? And I’m looking at all of that through various kinds of throws — deep shots, out routes, intermediate in-breakers, etc. You get a strong sense of that when you’re that close, and Pickett’s throws were all hitting the receivers’ hands with tremendous energy.
Pro day workouts are but a small part of the puzzle, and you can’t get overexcited about a quarterback throwing against zero defense on a predetermined script of throws. But with that said, Pickett was impressive. I have definitely undervalued his arm strength. You want to know your quarterback can make every throw and drive the ball, and he showed that he has the arm talent to do so.
His approach to the process is impressive
Pickett has 49 starts of tape on his résumé, chose to compete at the Senior Bowl (and stay all week long) and opted to participate in all of the throwing sessions of the combine. Now he comes back to Pitt and performs at his pro day. It might not seem like a lot, but for someone who is already the presumed first quarterback off the board (and likely no less than the second), it says something to scouts and evaluators that he’s out there again. It’d be very easy to skip these parts of the workout, but Pickett has approached this process exactly how NFL teams want it done. It drives home what I’ve heard about his hardworking attitude.
I mentioned this after the combine, too, but it’s worth pointing out that Pickett keeps putting on a show during these pre-draft events even while the narrative is directed to his hand size. He is able to put all of that aside and just go throw the ball. He keeps resetting the narrative by delivering on the field. (Whether the hand size concerns impact his draft position and/or NFL success remains to be seen.)
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Kenny Pickett isn’t bothered by the talk about his hand size and says the media makes it a bigger deal than it is with coaches.
Two head coaches in attendance
I was mildly surprised by the lack of NFL head coaches at Pickett’s pro day. Carolina Panthers coach Matt Rhule was one of two NFL head coaches on site. He spent 10 minutes talking to Pickett one-on-one. Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin was the other head coach in attendance. All 32 teams had some form of presence, and four GMs were there: Scott Fitterer (Panthers), Kevin Colbert (Steelers), Terry Fontenot (Atlanta Falcons) and Martin Mayhew (Washington Commanders).
The offseason’s quarterback movement still hasn’t stopped, but I’m starting to wonder where these quarterbacks could end up going in April. In the top 10, Detroit (No. 2), Carolina (No. 6), Atlanta (No. 8) and Seattle (No. 9) all have needs, but it still seems too early to take any of these signal-callers, including Pickett. The demand is there, but the supply really isn’t. Then the demand stalls as the supply picks up, with a long stretch of picks involving teams that have no immediate need for a QB before the draft hits the Steelers at No. 20.
What does this all mean? Will the Panthers bite early at No. 6, or perhaps try to move down? Will the Steelers get lucky and land one of the top two passers without having to move up from No. 20? And will Pittsburgh opt for the local guy it knows and has seen up close, or go for the high-upside prospect who might need a little more development time (Malik Willis)? Even without a top-five quarterback this year, the first round could be an interesting one for quarterbacks.