Not everyone has lost faith in Panthers’ quarterback Sam Darnold.
“I know everybody has kind of punted on Sam,” NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah said. “But golly, maybe I’m just a slave to my college grade, but I liked him so much coming out of USC, and you still think that’s in there somewhere, if they can find a way to put the other pieces in place. I wouldn’t totally give up on that one yet.”
Similar nostalgia inspired Coach Matt Rhule and general manager Scott Fitterer to trade multiple picks for Darnold last year. That didn’t work out. And just like last year, the Panthers are again looking for a new starting quarterback.
They will explore the veteran market, again. But that isn’t working for Rhule, either. Teddy Bridgewater didn’t stretch the field enough and Darnold threw too many interceptions.
Either the third time will be Rhule’s charm or it’s time for Fitterer to draft Carolina’s franchise quarterback.
Pittsburgh’s Kenny Pickett and Liberty’s Malik Willis are considered the top two prospects in the draft. The Panthers should have their choice at No. 6 and the two players could not be more different.
There is concern Willis would not be an ideal fit for the Panthers. Instead, Pickett is a ready-made prospect capable of having a Mac Jones-like rookie season.
“Pickett has got a lot of experience,” Jeremiah said. “He to me is somebody when you watch all these guys and you kind of watch them all one after another, he’s just different with how quickly he operates, just getting through progressions, getting the ball where it needs to be.”
Let’s review film from Pittsburgh versus Clemson and identify why Pickett is could be the Panthers’ next starting quarterback.
Throwing vs. man coverage
In a win against Clemson this season, Pickett threw for 302 yards and two touchdowns. His sharp accuracy and decision-making led to 25 of 39 completions and a 146 passer rating.
The Tigers blitzed Pickett often, especially on obvious passing situations. At times Clemson was successful when bringing an extra defender. But more often, Pickett dissected the blitz, found a favorable matchup, and converted.
Take this below play for example. Late in the first quarter, Pitt faced a third-and-seven from their own 35. Pitt lined up in an empty set with five eligible receivers. Pickett took the snap and looked right. He likely knew he was throwing left but that early look away helps hold the high safety, who is playing man defense versus the No. 3 receiver because of the blitz.
His footwork isn’t perfect (more on that later) as he slides for depth and uses mostly upper body strength to get this throw off. But it’s on target, timely and picked up a first down.
This next play showcased his ability to identify favorable matchups. Pickett has three targets to his right and an isolated receiver to his left. He recognized man coverage and throws toward his one-on-one matchup.
Pickett doesn’t have the strongest arm but this ball arrives with nice velocity and is placed perfectly. When Pickett is throwing left, he tends to angle right while gaining pocket depth.
“He doesn’t have ‘wow’ arm strength. He doesn’t blow you away with that, but he’s got really good vision,” Jeremiah said. “He throws with anticipation and timing. I think he’d be ready to come in and play right away.”
Throwing vs. zone
Pickett plays with a sense of calm when dropping back against zone coverage. He’s comfortable fitting throws into tiny windows and winning with underneath quick-hitters.
On back-to-back first-quarter plays, Pickett smoothly hit consecutive in-breaking routes to his slot receivers against the Tigers’ zone.
Occasionally, Clemson tried taking Pitt’s underneath throws away by gaining early depth to defend against in-breaking routes. When that happened, Pickett calmly found his check-down option for easy yards.
This next play came on a critical third-and-4early in the fourth quarter. Pitt is again in an empty formation (a set Pickett appears very comfortable in). With three targets to his left and two to his right, Pickett found his No. 2 receiver to the boundary wiggle in between Clemson’s curl-flat defender.
Pickett placed the ball perfectly. Clemson had three defenders with feet of the completion but the throw won.
Creating with his feet
Pickett is not the athlete Willis is but he does enough with his feet to extend plays. Pitt called a variety of dropback throws, including effective play-action and sprint-out sets.
On a third-and-seven from the Tigers’ 23, Pitt called a sprint-out right with a deep sail route tagged for the inside most receiver.
The team that drafts Pickett should utilize his effective play-action footwork and ball handling. This touchdown throw showcases his complete control while throwing on the run.
Pickett is far from stiff in the pocket. When nothing opened up early, he creatively found time for secondary plays. This below rep is an example of Pickett keeping the play alive while his eyes remained up and downfield, seeking a positive play.
Concerns? Arm strength, footwork
There are concerns about Pickett that could drop him out of the top 10. First, his hand size. He did not measure his hands at the Senior Bowl last month. Then he had a poor day handling snaps during down-pouring rain on Day 2 of Senior Bowl practice.
He’ll have to convince coaches his hands can still control the ball when playing outdoors in poor conditions.
Pickett also does not have the strongest arm in his class. His arm strength is considered above average but does not stand out. This second-quarter throw is an example of that.
Throwing from an empty set, Pickett holds on to the ball too long. For whatever reason, he did not throw outside to his field receiver even though he was open.
Instead, he holds too long and did not trust his arm to make an opposite hash throw.
Pickett can lose his fundamental footwork at times. On this below play, Pickett had an easy check down available. His running back opened and an inside pass would’ve been a large gain. But his unset feet result in an inaccurate ball that gets his running back hit hard.
What we learned
There is a lot to like about Pickett but not a ton to get excited about. He does not have the upside of Willis but could be the best quarterback in his class if everything goes right.
The Panthers could use his pro-ready skill set. Pickett would benefit early from distributing easy balls to Christian McCaffrey.
“They have to fall in love with him in this process. I had heard that they really liked Mac Jones and were impressed with him having been around him a Senior Bowl,” Jeremiah said. “Maybe that emboldens them a little bit to say, ‘Hey, if we feel great about a quarterback in this class that we meet with and feel like he’s going to be a great fit for us, then let’s go ahead and pull the trigger.” ’
