It seems like he is the only one that is getting negative-ish reviews. Is it smoke? He probably won’t even throw at the Combine if there are arm strength concerns.
CBS Sport’s Draft analysis Chris Trapasso says Pittsburgh QB Kenny Pickett’s arm was a clear step weaker than everyone else’s at the Senior Bowl.
On Trapasso’s Purple Insider podcast, he said Kenny Pickett’s arm was “like a clear step behind everyone else’s”, even compared to WKU’s Bailey Zappe who many have said had the least arm talent of the Senior Bowl QB’s and is often thought to be a Day 3 pick. Desmond Ridder, Sam Howell and Malik Willis were apparently far superior, with Pickett not getting enough zip on any throws, from short bullets to long bombs taking a extra split second to reach it’s destination than anyone else. Pickett was a Heisman finalist and NFL.com’s Cynthia Frelund just recently mocked Pickett as the first QB taken but if Pickett’s arm is truly that weak that would put a damper on things. Not many other scouts and analysts have shared Trapasso’s opinion on Pickett’s arm strength, with most ranking Pickett on the same level as Howell and above Zappe, and it will be interesting to see if Pickett’s arm strength becomes a concern.
Random comment - Zappe seemed like the most capable QB at the Senior Bowl.
Pickett hiding his hand size seems like a red flag to me. Particularly when someone pointed out that other QBs have been able to increase their hand size measurement by as much as 3/4" by the NFL combine thru tricks of the trade. Having 9 inch hands isn’t the end of the world. But having 8 inch hands that you have to manipulate to seem like you have 8.75 inch hands matters.
Don’t you all recall the talk about Burrow having small hands and how bad he would fumble because of it. Same thing was said about Jared Goff and Kyler Murray.
I just doubt the hand size BS is any real concern. So does coach Pat Narduzzi.
Apparently his double jointed thumb helps him grip the ball. So they say.
9 inches is the cutoff point where it becomes a big concern. Personnel guys prefer 9.5 inches and above, but they are willing to go all the way down to 9 inches before panic sets in. All 3 of the guys you mentioned came in at 9 inches and above. For Murray his hand size was a concern because he was a smaller guy in general. But the talk went away when he measured in at 9.5 inches.
If Pickett has 8 inch hands, I do think that is cause for alarm. And it makes you wonder why he would be hiding his hand measurement if he had “normal” sized hands.
What does Russell Wilson’s fumble rate look like? He’s short and holds the ball alot, but he has unusually large hands. They are bigger than Joe Flacco’s hands.
Before this season Pickett had fumbled 20 times, so there’s actual data backing up the concern.
But I don’t think the fumbling issues are the biggest concern, it’s playing in weather. Now he played in Pittsburgh and didn’t seem to have too many problems with it, but then you got that second day of the Senior Bowl with the awful rain and wind and by all accounts he was the worst QB that day, so I don’t know.
Personally I don’t think any of these guys are 1st rounders. Willis will go in the 1st for his traits, but I wouldn’t be completely shocked if he was the only one.
Yeah, and Aaron Donald is undersized and has short arms. That worked out so well for those idiots that passed on him. ***** Cough ****** Lions ****** Cough*******
