PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – It was the last time for Kenny Pickett to throw not only in front of a group of scouts, but also with his buddies. The Pitt record holder said he cherished the opportunity and feels good about his performance during the Pitt Pro Day Monday at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex on the South Side.
"This is something we have done together, me and the receivers and Lucas, hundreds if not thousands of times," Pickett said. "It's another day, another great workout we put together, just a lot of people watching."
Pickett said it helped being with tight end Lucas Krull and receivers Melquise Stovall, Tre Tipton, Taysir Mack and even a few reps with still Panther and Biletnikoff Award winner Jordan Addison. It was also a way for Pickett to help those guys out with scouts from 29 NFL teams in attendance, multiple teams with five representatives, scouts from the Canadian Football League and even the XFL.
"I definitely wanted to throw here," Pickett said, wearing gloves on both hands in the indoor facility. "I knew that teams would be coming out and also helped with more eyes on my teammates and friends. It was an awesome experience. It was a once-in-a-lifetime deal to do with some of your best friends."
The Steelers had everyone there, from Team President Art Rooney, Mike Tomlin, Brian Flores, Teryl Austin, Matt Canada, Kevin Colbert, the two internal candidates to be the next GM Omar Khan and Brandon Hunt. Carolina head coach Matt Rhule, who once got Pickett to commit to him at Temple, Detroit quarterbacks coach Mark Brunell, Washington offensive coordinator Scott Turner, Carolina and Atlanta each had their general managers in attendance.
"It's been pretty hectic," Pickett said. "This is a position I knew I would be in with all of the hard work I put in. It's something I always wished and hoped for. It's been a dream."
Hand size
Pickett's official hand measurement for the Pitt Pro Day was an eighth of an inch bigger than the measurement at the NFL Combine. Hands came in at 8 5/8 inches as Pickett joked his hand exercises are really working.
"They do their due diligence to say the least," Pickett said of NFL teams picking apart every piece of information. "I've had the chance to be in front of them for the third time. I've had the chance to do a lot of interviews, it's been going great. There's still part of this process you will do in the last month."
Where to?
While meeting with every NFL team, Pickett is not sure where he will end up. You can imagine, even if he's not watching all of the mock drafts and draft speculation, he hears about it. Then with the recent moves once the NFL calendar year started last Wednesday, teams that didn't need a quarterback now need one and visa versa.
"It keeps changing," Pickett said of what he is hearing. "As free agency settles down, I think you will have a little clearer picture. Teams are playing it close to the chest, so we will see."
Regardless of what the teams might think, Pickett feels good about how he's done and the resume he's put together. He believes some of it is just his evolution.
"Every off-season I feel like I take a leap forward in agility and strength and speed because of how hard I train," Pickett said. "I think all of that stuff tied into today and I was able to put the ball out there some more and throw with some good velocity."
Now it's the wait, for what has probably seemed like an incredible amount of time that has passed since his final game. Pickett heads back to New Jersey to continue training Monday night still with nearly five weeks until the NFL Draft.
"You can't control that type of thing," Pickett said of his future. "It's a dream to be here, it's been an awesome experience."
