Pro Football Focus Pegs Pitt DT Calijah Kancey as First Round Pick
PITTSBURGH -- Pitt Panthers defensive tackle Calijah Kancey is holding steady as a projected first round pick in the ever-nearing NFL Draft.
Pro Football Focus' Sam Monson and Steve Palazzolo released a new mock draft with the real thing just days away and they have the Detroit Lions taking Kancey with their second pick of the first round - selection No. 18 overall.
"He may have to start off as a designated pass-rusher, but he can truly excel in that role," Monson and Palazzolo wrote. "There's little doubt he's going to impact QBs at the next level."
Kancey was the second interior tackle taken in this draft, behind only Georgia's Jalen Carter and the eighth defensive player selected.
Before he shattered all-time records with his speed and quickness at the NFL Combine and Pitt's Pro Day, Kancey was a unanimous All-American and ACC Defensive Player of the Year this past season after recording 31 tackles, 14.5 for a loss and 7.5 sacks in 11 games this year.
He suffered a shoulder injury that kept him out of the regular season finale and will sideline him for the Sun Bowl against No. 18 UCLA, but Kancey still led the country's interior defensive linemen in tackles for loss.
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