Kenny Pickett's Dinner with Eagles and What it Could Mean
It wasn’t like it was in 2016 when the Eagles made a dinner reservation for a party of five at a North Dakota restaurant.
It was then, on March 30 to be exact, that owner Jeffrey Lurie, GM Howie Roseman, head coach Doug Pederson, and offensive coordinator Frank Reich bought Carson Wentz dinner. Less than a month later, on April 16, the Eagles traded up to the second overall pick in the draft and took the North Dakota State quarterback.
Fast forward six years, and it was Kenny Pickett dining on the Eagles’ tab.
The assumption is the reservation, however, was a table for just two.
Pickett held his pro day on the campus of his school, the University of Pittsburgh on Monday, and Eagles quarterback coach Brian Johnson was in attendance. Unless some other members of the front office or coaching staff flew out at some point, it was Johnson who wined and dined the Pitt passer.
Earlier this year, during a Panthers’ home game against the University of North Carolina, a photo of Roseman holding binoculars to his face made the rounds on social media.
Pickett had a stellar showing at his pro day, per NFL Network’s Aditi Kinkhabwala, who was in attendance. She reported that he showed off his arm strength and accuracy in a 56-play script. Even his infamously small hands seemed to grow from when they were measured at 8½ inches during the NFL Scouting Combine earlier this month to 8 5/8 on Monday.
RELATED: As Expected, Eagles' Splash Will Come in Draft, Not Free ...
Pickett may be climbing into top 10 territory and there are some QB-needy teams in that area, including the Panthers (No. 6), Falcons, Marcus Mariota aside (No. 8), and Seahawks (No. 9). Perhaps Malik Willis will continue his ascension as well when he conducts his pro day on Tuesday at Liberty University.
If either quarterback is there at No. 15 when the Eagles are scheduled to make their first selection on the opening night of the draft April 28, it will bring up an interesting decision.
Do they take one of them, particularly Pickett, who they seem to have done a lot of work on?
Drafting a QB in the first round has been a risky proposition.
ESPN’s Field Yates pointed out that between 2006 and 2016 there were 29 QBs taken in the draft’s first round and none of them remain with the team that selected them.
Still, it won’t stop any team from trying.
And maybe the Eagles will give it another shot.
Somewhere along the path of this draft, they will likely take a quarterback, and it very well could be in the first round. They have taken a QB every two years on average since the 2010 draft and the last one they took was Jalen Hurts in 2020.
The last one they picked in the first round during that span was Carson Wentz six years ago.
Perhaps the Eagles are simply baiting another team behind them in the draft who may think they could take Pickett, a team such as the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Life after Ben Roethlisberger needs to be addressed in the ‘Burgh. They signed Mitch Trubisky in free agency, but there is a history with the former second overall pick in 2017 and it’s not a good history.
It’s logical to believe the Steelers want a QB, and Pickett played in their backyard, so they may want to move up five spots from their current standing at No. 20.
The QB decision is just another layer of intrigue when it comes to the Eagles and this draft.
Ed Kracz is the publisher of SI.com’s Fan Nation Eagles Today and co-host of the Eagles Unfiltered Podcast. Check out the latest Eagles news at www.SI.com/NFL/Eagles or www.eaglestoday.com and please follow him on Twitter: @kracze.What
