PITTSBURGH, Pa. (PTTP) – After a standout final season at Pitt highlighted by an ACC Championship victory, the now-former Pitt quarterback had one last opportunity to show out in front of the NFL scouts ahead of the upcoming NFL draft on April 28, 2022. Pickett’s final season at Pitt couldn’t have played out any better as he surpassed legendary Hall of Famer Dan Marino for every passing category there is, leading the Panthers to an 11-3 record, an ACC Championship, a spot in the Peach Bowl, and the 13th spot in the final AP ranking. As a result of this past season, draft experts watched Pickett’s draft stock soar after each week of dominating ACC defenses, but the ultimate question of “Where will Pickett end up?” still remains.
In a wild NFL offseason that has seen multiple QB’s on the move, all eyes are on who and where the first quarterback of the draft will fall. Pickett, along with rival ACC QB Sam Howell out of UNC and Liberty QB Malik Willis, headline the 2022 QB class with many in agreement that the Carolina Panthers will act first picking at No. 6. Interestingly enough, Carolina Head Coach Matt Rhule was in attendance to watch Pickett at his pro day, and there is a prior history between these two dating back to 2016 when Pickett had verbally committed to Temple to play for Matt Rhule, prior to ending up in Pittsburgh.
Much to the delight of the scouts in attendance, Kenny did not disappoint in the throwing portion of the day. With receivers Melquise Stovall, Tre Tipton, and Taysir Mack along with TE Lucas Krull as well looking to increase their draft stocks, Pickett looked electric throwing dime after dime proving that there isn’t a throw on the field he isn’t comfortable making. Pickett also made a wise decision in bringing in his deep ball WR and Biletnikoff Award winner Jordan Addison as the pair connected on a few deep bombs that earned head nods from multiple scouts in the room. With all the draft noise going on, Pickett’s only focus is doing what he needs to do to prepare for the NFL level. “Every day I wake up there’s some new news about guys moving around, guys getting traded but I’ll be right where I’m supposed to be at the end of the day in April.”