Four First-Round Draft Candidates From Pitt for Next Year
PITTSBURGH -- The Pitt Panthers have had a first-round draft pick in back-to-back years for the first time since 2007-08 after Kenny Pickett and Calijah Kancey were both selected as top-20 picks. Is there a player on the current roster capable of making it three years in a row?
I think there might be and there are four prime candidates. These Panthers combine both a strong track record from their previous years in college football and immense potential to raise their stock in the coming year. None of these players are considered first-round picks at the moment, so they all come with the understanding that fantastic 2023 seasons are a prerequisite to becoming a top-line NFL Draft prospect.
With that said, let's look at four Panthers with the potential to make it three straight years with a Pitt player taken in the first round of the NFL Draft.
M.J. Devonshire, Cornerback
Devonshire was one of the names that consistently popped up when Pitt players at the NFL Combine were asked who would follow them to Indianapolis next year and it's easy to see why. Devonshire is talented - a former four-star recruit from football factory Aliquippa High School - with long arms, good size at 5'11 and 190 pounds and speed that shows up on film.
In addition to being the top tackler among Pitt cornerbacks last season, he tied for the team lead with three interceptions - two of which he returned for touchdowns - and defended five other passes. Quarterbacks tested him frequently and Devonshire held up. He has a nose for the ball and is sure to test well at Pro Day and the NFL Combine, should he be invited, with his stellar athleticism.
Bangally Kamara, Linebacker
Kamara is considered one of the rising stars in this all of a sudden inexperienced Pitt defense. It feels like he's young because 2022 was his first season as a full-time starter, but Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi has praised how much the senior has matured from the beginning of last season until now.
At 6'2 and 225 pounds with long arms, he already looks the part of an NFL linebacker. He can fly sideline to sideline to sideline, cover competently and brings the lumber when he hits. If Kamara can improve his coverage skills and produce more as a pass rusher (just one sack and three tackles for loss in 13 games), he can go from anonymous to the first round.
Phil Jurkovec, Quarterback
As Kenny Pickett showed in 2021, all it really takes for a seasoned veteran quarterback to make the leap from Day 3 up to Day 1 is one spectacular year. Pickett won and was the catalyst for one of the best seasons in program history, but he also benefited from a relatively weak quarterback class.
Jurkovec might be in a position to do the same thing. If he does his job on the field, taking advantage of his reunion with offensive coordinator Frank Cingetti and a starting job in passing offense that is expected to improve upon it's 2022 form. With Drake Maye and Caleb Williams figuring to be the only sure things in the 2024 draft, Jurkovec can make a leap forward with a strong conclusion to his college career.
Dayon Hayes, Defensive End
Hayes has the longest odds of any of these four prospects, largely because he is the only one without a year of starting experience already under his belt. He has a couple of games' worth of such experience and showed flashes of dominance in those instances, but he would really need to light it up in 2023 if he wants to create a case to get drafted at all, let alone in the first round.
That said, it's hard to ignore his incredible physical skills. He has quick hands on the end of his long arms. He's strong and talented with the benefit of having sat behind and learned from some other Panthers pass rushers who reached the NFL. It's an outside chance, but he will certainly have every opportunity to make the most of his immense talent in Pitt's blitz-heavy scheme.
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