Kenny Pickett can elevate NFL Draft stock with a great game vs Clemson

Pittsburgh QB Kenny Pickett is shooting up draft boards. Now he can further skyrocket his NFL Draft status with a win over Clemson this week. 

For the most part, the college football schedule is a little bland this week, void of a lot of high-quality matchups. However, if you are a fan of the NFL Draft, there is one game you are certainly going to want to tune into.

This Saturday, the Pitt Panthers will host the Clemson Tigers for a battle of two of the top teams in the ACC. But this shouldn’t just be a hard-fought battle. It will be one that has major implications on a future NFL quarterback.

Pittsburgh’s Kenny Pickett was quite underwhelming during the first four seasons of his college career. To the surprise of nearly everyone, he has been electrifying in his fifth college season.

While his new offense has helped give him a boost, Pickett really looks like he might have the making to be one of the top quarterbacks drafted next April. He’s got terrific size for the position, mobility to escape the pocket and extend the plays, and as much big-play ability as any quarterbacks getting ready to enter the 2022 NFL Draft.

How Pickett can elevate his stock in the NFL Draft

Clemson is a remarkable football program. While their offense led by QB D.J. Uigalelei has been a disappointment this year, the Tigers’ defense has been spectacular.

Through their first 6 games in 2021, Clemson has allowed just 201.7 passing yards per game and just 0.8 passing touchdowns per contest. It’s not for a lack of effort passing the football, as teams are throwing up the rock an average of 36.3 times against them, but are completing just 58.5 percent of passes, via Sports Reference.

Meanwhile, Kenny Pickett is averaging a whopping 322.3 passing yards per game this season in addition to passing for 3.5 touchdowns per contest. This doesn’t even count the 3 scoring drives that ended in him rushing the ball into the endzone this year.

As Pittsburgh continues to have one of the highest-powered offenses in the nation with their stud quarterback, I’m very interested to see who will prevail in this matchup.

With a strong showing against a premier college defense, Pickett — who was once thought of as a future late-round pick — could potentially do enough to put his name in the discussion to be the top quarterback taken in the 2022 NFL Draft.

It’s been unbelievable watching the progress Pickett has made this year, and he could make himself a lot of money in the future with another amazing showing against Clemson this week. This is certainly the matchup to watch.