QBs Pickett, Strong both have plenty to prove

MOBILE, Ala. -- Most players show up at the Senior Bowl each season looking at it as a proving ground.

In this year's draft class of quarterbacks, that's certainly the case. There's no slam-dunk player to be the first quarterback taken. In fact, there's an excellent chance the top player selected in the draft will not be a quarterback for the first time since the Browns selected Myles Garrett No. 1-overall in 2017.

This year's quarterback draft class doesn't have a standout star, but Pitt's Kenny Pickett and Nevada's Carson Strong will be two of the top ones selected in this draft.

But both will have a lot of questions to answer first regarding this about which they have little control.

For Pickett, it's questions regarding the size of his hands. A 9-inch hand size -- measured from the tip of the pinky across to the tip of the thumb with the hand extended -- is considered the minimum size to be able to grip and NFL football. Pickett's are rumored to be below that size and he declined to have them measured at the weigh-ins here. He wants to continue to do exercises to strengthen those muscles and stretch his hand before having it measured later this month at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis.

"I think that’s the No. 1 thing for quarterbacks in the draft process every year," Pickett said Tuesday as Senior Bowl practices kicked off. "The good news is that I played in Pittsburgh. Anyone who’s been to Pittsburgh knows it’s not the nicest place to play in October and November. So I have experience playing in tough weather."

It could be worse. Pickett can at least continue to work on those stretching exercises.

Strong has physical issues of a different kind. The largest of the quarterbacks here in Mobile at just a shade under 6-foot-4 and a strapping 226 pounds, Strong looks the part of having the ideal size to hold up to NFL pass rushes. The question for him, however, is can he escape them?

Strong suffered a significant injury in high school and had eight biodegradable screws placed in his knee. He had the knee scoped again in August of 2020, then underwent a surgical procedure last February to have a piece of his hip bone grafted into the knee to stabilize it.

The recovery was supposed to take a year. He played in every one of Nevada's game this season, throwing 36 touchdown passes and just eight interceptions with nearly 4,200 passing yards.

But he played most of the season with a balky knee brace on, shedding it only for Nevada's final game. He's not wearing it here, either.

"I played the first game about six months after surgery," Strong said. "During the season, I was dealing with some inflammation problems. My leg was getting swollen. It wasn’t quite ready. But there was no way I wasn’t going to play the season. As the year went on, I got better. I played the last game of the year without the knee brace. I feel comfortable right now without out. I’m getting my feet under me, still getting better. I feel good."

He knows it has led some to question his overall mobility. Strong was never a great runner. Sacks count against a quarterback's rushing totals in college. He had minus-95 yards rushing in 2020. Last season, that total jumped to minus-208.

"I’m definitely not Lamar Jackson by any means," Strong said. "I definitely have to beat teams with my mind. What I put on tape this year, I’m made out to be a statue, especially in the first half of the year coming off my surgery and not being all the way ready. But I do feel I got better and I can step up in the pocket and extend plays and keep my eyes downfield. 

"No, I’m never going to be the guy that’s going to hurdle somebody and give them a stiff-arm and go and score. That’s not my style. But I do believe I can extend plays and keep my eyes downfield. A few times today, I stepped up in the pocket and kept my eyes downfield. I didn’t make a good throw. I wish I could have those back. But I’m still getting my feet under me. I definitely think I’m going to be moving better, especially going forward."

By the same token, Pickett is lauded for his mobility. He might not have Strong's big arm -- he unleashed one pass in practice Tuesday that easily traveled 60 yards in the air on a relative rope -- but he does have the mobility to move in the pocket and scramble for yards that many NFL teams covet.

And his leadership skills at Pitt were a big part of the process, as well.

In fact, Jim Nagy, who is in charge of the Senior Bowl, compared Pickett favorably to the Bengals' Joe Burrow.

"He is going to crush this process," Nagy said Tuesday of Pickett. "He has a really cool way about him. He kind of reminds me of Burrow. When I got to know Joe through this process, guys just gravitated to him. He’s a leader. It comes easy to him.”

Pickett and Burrow were roommates in the past at the Manning Passing Academy.

"That’s a hell of a comparison," Pickett said. "I’m going to have to have Jim do that everywhere I go. That’s a heck of an intro. I had a chance to be roommates with him at the Manning camp. I talked to him at the end of our season at Pitt. (He’s a) great guy, definitely a great role model to have."

And like Burrow, Pickett isn't a running quarterback. But he's a quarterback who can run when needed.

"He’s a mobile guy. He’s really accurate from the pocket," Pickett said. "We’re both not Lamar Jackson, but we can move around and extend some plays and find guys downfield. And really the mental aspect. You can tell the game is slowing down by the way he’s playing. That’s where I got this season at Pitt at the college level."

Pickett, however, isn't expected to be the first-overall pick in the draft as Burrow was in 2020.

But he'll be happy wherever he lands -- though he did say he wouldn't mind staying in Pittsburgh, which he called his second home.

The Steelers hold the 20th pick in the draft and are in the market for a quarterback following Ben Roethlisberger's retirement at the end of the season.

Roethlisberger and Pickett shared facility the past five years at the UMPC Rooney Sports Complex and also shared a coach. Former Pitt offensive coordinator Mark Whipple, who left the Panthers at the end of the season, was Roethlisberger's first quarterback coach with the Steelers.

"Ben’s a hall of famer. Had an unbelievable career," Pickett said. "It’s pretty cool to coached by Coach Whip who had Ben. A lot of the things we has teaching Ben, he taught me. The possibility of getting drafted there would be unbelievable. Pittsburgh is really my second home. That would be a dream."

He also has a relationship with Mike Tomlin -- and especially Steelers offensive coordinator Matt Canada. Canada was offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Pitt in 2016, Pickett's senior season at Ocean Township High School in New Jersey.

"He’s a great guy," Pickett said of Tomlin, saying they've spoken on occasion. "Obviously, I’m familiar with Coach Canada, as well. He recruited me to Pitt. I have a great relationship with them."

And perhaps they won't be as concerned with those hand issues.

• I was interested to see Minnesota offensive tackle Daniel Faalele, who officially measured in at just a shade over 6-foot-8 and at 387 pounds.

I came away disappointed. He spent a lot of time on the ground. And he ducks his head too much,

Faalele, who is Australian and hasn't been playing football all that long, lined up at right tackle and when he locked on to a defender in the run game, he got obvious push. But he also lost his balance all too often.

• Northern Iowa's Trevor Penning, however, is really light on his feet and moves well. He lacks Faalele's bulk, but his work in one-on-one pass rush drills was impressive. He mirrored defenders easily. He could wind up being the fourth offensive tackle selected this season after Alabama's Evan Neal, North Carolina State's Ikem Ekwonu and Mississippi State's Charles Cross.

Neal, Ekwonu and Cross aren't here. So this is Penning's chance to shine.

• I really liked Connecticut's Travis Jones' work in the few team running drills that were run here. At just over 6-foot-4 and 336 pounds, Jones was playing the nose and demanding double teams.

When he didn't get doubled, he easily penetrated into the backfield.

• Another big defensive tackle that stood out was UCLA's Otito Ogbannia.

He more than held his own up front. I'm going to have to do more homework on him. But he's 6-foot-3, 326 pounds and was a load for whoever was trying to block him.

• Boston College offensive lineman Zion Johnson played left tackle season, but at just over 6-2, he projects as a guard in the NFL. Tuesday, however, he displayed some additional skill. He was playing some center.

When Johnson locks onto a defender, he stays blocked.

• A player to keep an eye on in the game Saturday is National Team wide receiver Christian Watson from North Dakota State.

At 6-foot-4, 211 pounds, he has imposing size. But he moves well. And he's fast.

The same goes for Strong's teammate at Nevada Romeo Doubs (6-1, 204). Both looked bigger than advertised and had two of the fastest times in practice per Zebra Technology. Doubs was clocked with a top speed of 21.25 miles per hour. Watson was 20.71.

• While on the subject of speed, UTSA's Tariq Woolen was the fastest player today. He was clocked at 22.45 mph. Woolen is a 6-3 1/2 and 205 pounds. And he's a corner.

Fayetteville State cornerback Josh Williams was timed at 21.75 mph, the fastest speed of the day.

And he's 6-2 and 193 pounds. 

Watch for both names to rise on draft boards. They great size and speed.

• The American Team quarterbacks weren't overly impressive in terms of size.

Bailey Zappe of Western Kentucky looked like a high school kid next to North Carolina's Sam Howell and Liberty's Malik Willis, even though all three measured in at just a shade over 6 feet.

Howell's a thick 221 pounds. He looks bigger than he actually is in terms of height.

But all three are less than ideal when it comes to that metric.

• Willis has excellent arm strength and the ability to drop the ball into a bucket. We all know he can run -- he had over 1,800 rushing yards the past two seasons.

But his accuracy at times wanders. In one-on-one passing drills, he was accurate. That tells me it's a consistency issue, which can be coached.

• LSU inside linebacker Damone Clark moves well in space and shows good coverage ability.

• Weather could be a factor here the next two days. There's plenty of rain in the forecast. But all of the players will be available for interviews tomorrow morning. I'm looking forward to sitting down with some guys and learning more about them.