Daniel Jeremiah Likes Pittsburgh's Kenny Pickett as Best-Fit QB for Broncos in 2022 Draft

Leading up to the NFL Combine year, one of the bigger names in the NFL draft media is given the stage for a pre-draft press conference to help jumpstart the event. Prior to being hired by the (then) Oakland Raiders as the team’s general manager, it was Mike Mayock who conducted the Combine kick-off presser, answering questions about the upcoming scouting event and the draft class for media across the league.

However, since Mayock left NFL Network, the torch was passed to former NFL scout Daniel Jeremiah to take to the podium and discourse on the 2022 draft class for national and local media alike. Taking questions from local Denver media, Jeremiah shared his view of the 2022 quarterback class and whether any of the signal-callers made sense for the Denver Broncos and their new offensive scheme under first-time head coach Nathaniel Hackett.

Hackett, running a slightly different iteration of the West Coast offense that Denver had run previously with Pat Shurmur, will likely call an offensive scheme that utilizes more outside zone rushing tactics and a simpler quick-passing offense.

While Liberty's Malik Willis may have the best combination of size, arm talent, and athleticism, he might not be the best first-round fit for what the Broncos want to do offensively according to Jeremiah. Instead, Jeremiah stated that Pittsburgh's Kenny Pickett might be the best fit for the Broncos.

“When you watch all these guys and you kind of watch them all one after another, he’s just different how quickly he operates, just getting through progressions, get the ball where it needs to be… He doesn’t have 'wow' arm strength…but he’s got really good vision, he throws with anticipation and timing. I think he’d be ready to come in and play right away.”

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Unfortunately for Pickett, the questions surrounding his hand size will linger through the entire draft process. While some may scoff at the hand size discourse, it’s not just that Pickett’s hands are small but if the reported measurement of 8-¼ inches is correct, there has only been one quarterback with his hands ever measured at the Combine dating back to 1999 with hands that small in Kevin Davidson out of Princeton in 2020.

8-¼-inch hands are concerning because it is well off the 9-¼-inch standard many teams look for as a cutoff. Anything under 9 inches tends to be a concern as there have only been nine quarterbacks in total to have sub 9-inch hand size.

With the NFL ball being bigger than the college football and including more cold-weather games given that the season lasts nearly two months longer in the NFL than in college, Pickett’s ability to handle it should be questioned. Furthermore, according to Pro Football Focus, Pickett fumbled the ball a total of 38 times in his career at Pitt.

Also, given that Pickett is the oldest quarterback in the class (24 years old as a rookie), that makes him a full four years older coming out than Trey Lance last year. While Pickett could be ready to play on Day 1, he is far and away the oldest and most experienced quarterback.

That might make him the most plug-and-play ready, but it also might make him the closest to his ceiling with less upside to project going forward. Furthermore, being a two-gloves-wearing, solid but not great athlete, who lacks arm talent and prefers to work underneath throws really mimics a lot of attributes of the quarterback Denver started last season in Teddy Bridgewater.

Perhaps not the best investment of a top-10 pick for the Broncos in a division where the baseline level of quarterback play, in order to avoid fielding the worst signal-caller in the division, is Vegas' top-10-to-12 guy, Derek Carr.

Jeremiah also stated that while Pickett might be the best fit for Denver, he wasn’t sure whether there would be a single quarterback drafted in the top-10 this year, a testament to the reality that many across the league view this as one of the more lackluster crops at the top in many years. The last time a quarterback wasn’t selected in the first three picks of a draft, let alone not a single quarterback selected in the top-10, was the historically horrific 2013 draft class where the first three quarterbacks off the board were E.J. Manuel, Geno Smith, and Mike Glennon.

No one seems to think this year’s crop of quarterbacks will be as bad as the 2013 class, but it certainly lacks a blue-chip quarterback at the top.

As far as other quarterbacks that might fit the Broncos, Jeremiah stated that Willis has the highest upside in the class. While stout and measuring close to 6-foot-0, Willis is built like an NFL running back with a very sturdy base at 220 pounds.

He also showed off his tantalizing combination of athleticism and arm talent in the class at the Senior Bowl. Willis is a projection as far as playing the quarterback position within the structure of an offense, but he legitimately has the athletic ability and size to play running back in the NFL on top of having recorded the strongest arm in terms of velocity of any quarterback at the Senior Bowl dating back to 2018.

Just how good has Malik Willis' arm shown in Mobile this week?

Dating back to the 2018 Senior Bowl, Malik Willis is ranked first in:

Highest Initial Air Speed: 75.7 mph
Average Initial Air Speed: 48.5 mph

Kid has a hose no doubt
— Nick Kendell 🏔 (@NickKendellMHH) February 3, 2022

The Takeaway

While no quarterback might be truly worth the selection for the Broncos at the No. 9 overall selection, that doesn’t mean Paton won’t consider it. Denver doesn’t appear to have its long-term franchise quarterback on the roster unless Drew Lock makes an improbable leap in his fourth year in the league where he will turn 26 years old.

The Broncos are on the hunt for a quarterback. If Paton and company fall in love with a quarterback at No. 9 overall, they should consider taking him.

However, given what a majority of the talking heads with legit league sources are saying about this quarterback class, Denver might be better off begrudgingly going cheap at the position again in 2022, seeing what options fall to Day 2 as a lottery ticket draft investment, and reassess its options in what promises to be a far more talented quarterback crop in 2023.

Follow Nick on Twitter @NickKendellMHH.

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