Kenny Pickett, Malik Willis met with the Panthers at the Senior Bowl. How did it go?
The Carolina Panthers wasted no time meeting with the top quarterback prospects at the 2022 Senior Bowl.
Pittsburgh’s Kenny Pickett and Liberty’s Malik Willis both said they sat down with members of the Panthers’ front office Tuesday and that their respective meetings were productive.
“They went well. They’re gonna continue to get more in-depth as we go. I know there’s a lot to come after this week, but I think it’s a great start,” Pickett said. “I’m really just enjoying every interview process that I’ve gone through so far.”
Pickett — who de-committed from Temple a month before Matt Rhule left for Baylor — said he still has a great relationship with the Panthers’ coach. He remembers visiting Temple as a high school senior in 2016-17 and was drawn to Rhule’s authenticity.
“He’s a great person. It comes down to people first in this business,” Pickett said. “Talking to all the players that he’s coached when I was thinking about committing, that’s really all it’s about. How great of a guy he is and how hard they play for him.”
The Heisman finalist quarterbacked Pittsburgh to its first ACC championship this past season, beating Wake Forest at Bank of America Stadium in the title game. Pickett threw for 253 yards and accounted for three touchdowns in the victory, playing in front of Rhule and other Panthers scouts who were in attendance.
In the championship, Pickett turned heads by executing a game- (and rule-) changing “fake slide” touchdown run late in the first quarter. The bizarrely effective play was an instant, but controversial, highlight of his senior season.
“I don’t think you can practice something like that and go into a championship game and execute it,” Pickett said of his impromptu run. “It was just kind of a natural thing. I can’t tell you why or how it just kind of came into place.”
Pickett is considered the No. 1 quarterback prospect ahead of the 2022 NFL draft. How Pickett plays throughout this week of practice and in the game Saturday will go a long way in solidifying his stock.
From a measurements standpoint, Pickett checks all the boxes of a prototypical quarterback except for his hand size. He wears two gloves while he plays and elected not to have his hands measured at the Senior Bowl. Instead, he’ll wait until the combine, which he said gives him three weeks to practice specific stretching techniques predicated on maximizing his measurements.
Regardless, Pickett is not too concerned about what teams think of his hands.
“I mean I think it’s funny at this point,” Pickett said. “It is what it is. Just kind of taking it in stride and moving on.”
Malik Willis on Panthers, Cam Newton and his athleticism
Willis thinks he’s the best quarterback at the Senior Bowl.
Considering six of the top seven prospects are in Mobile, that means Willis believes he’s the top quarterback prospect in the 2022 draft.
“I think we all have different play styles. And it’s hard to judge us the same way. I think we all think differently. We all have different strengths and weaknesses,” Willis said. “I feel like I’m really blessed as an individual. And I think I’m the best and I think they should as well.”
He’s confident, yet grounded, self-aware and calm. Willis possesses similar traits to his hometown hero Cam Newton.
“I went to the same high school (as him). I went to Wesleyan for three years. He would always drop in and stuff,” Willis said. “I played for his seven-on-seven team. He always gave me a little affirmation that I could keep for the rest of my life. He has definitely been a big part of this.”
Willis said he has met with most NFL teams this week, including the Panthers. He said his strategy going into his meeting with Carolina was to be himself and just talk ball.
Of all the quarterback prospects, Willis is considered to have the most upside. His ad-lib abilities outside the pocket are exactly what pro scouts are looking for following the playoff performances of Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen and Joe Burrow.
Entering his senior season at Liberty, Willis said he knew he needed to focus on his throwing mechanics and footwork.
“After leaving Auburn, I just decided I was going to be like a sponge to the game. Just focus on taking my athleticism out of the picture and just focusing on being more cerebral,” he said. “I focused on taking what the defense gave me and using my athleticism only when absolutely necessary.”
It’s believed Willis matured a lot while at Liberty and he’s showcasing that at the Senior Bowl with how he’s handling pressure in the pocket.
“If somebody is in the backfield with me then I should probably run. But if it’s a clean pocket, I could probably stand in,” he said. “I try not to have like a set thing in my mind where I’m going to run this play, or throw this play. I just try to play the game of football.”
This story was originally published February 2, 2022 at 1:14 PM.
