So, which one of the seemingly available quarterbacks will the Carolina Panthers end up with this offseason?
Will it be the soon-to-be four-time MVP Aaron Rodgers? How about the very curious Russell Wilson? Or should they take a gamble on the high upside of Malik Willis?
Well, none of those will come to be—at least according to Pro Football Focus.
PFF college football analyst Anthony Treash made his predictions on where each quarterback in question will be headed this offseason. And his forecast for the Panthers isn’t, well, quite as sexy as any of those aforementioned options.
Enter Kenny Two Mittens . . .
“I am not as high on Pickett as most across the NFL landscape and in the draft community,” Treash writes. “Teams are very much concerned about his hand size and ability to handle bad outdoor conditions along with his tendency to hold onto the ball. Pickett is rumored to have 8.25-inch hands. No NFL quarterback with sub-nine-inch hands has started a game in the past decade. He hardly saw rain in a game this past season, but Pickett earned a 37.2 passing grade when there was some type of precipitation in his college career. He also averaged 3.19 seconds per throw in 2021, which would have been the slowest time in the NFL this past season.”
Pickett, who turns 24 years old in June, spent five seasons at the University of Pittsburgh. In his most recent (and almost rain-less) campaign, he tossed for 4,319 yards, 42 touchdowns and seven interceptions over 13 outings.
But, as Treash mentions, his measurables and potential should be of concern at the pro level—making him a possible trade-down target for head coach Matt Rhule and general manager Scott Fitterer.
“Pickett’s ceiling is going to come into question as the draft nears, but still, a team is likely to take the Pittsburgh quarterback in Round 1, if not early Round 2,” he adds. “Pickett, who earned a 92.3 passing grade in 2021, met with the Panthers at the Senior Bowl and said he plans to meet with them again before the draft. He has a connection with Carolina head coach Matt Rhule, who recruited him to play at Temple and is now needing to make a large bet at quarterback to save his job. The Panthers have only one pick in the top 100 (No. 6 overall) and could trade back from that to recoup Day 2 capital while still swinging the bat on a quarterback.”
That connection would certainly have to stick this time for Rhule and Pickett, who never ended up taking the field together at Temple. And if it wouldn’t, Rhule may not be taking the field in the NFL beyond the all-important 2022 season.
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