2022 NFL Draft: Is Kenny Pickett the next Joe Burrow? Examining the Pittsburgh QB’s dominant 2021 campaign

Nobody has ascended like Joe Burrow. Nobody. However Kenny Pickett is on a Burrowian monitor. 

The Pittsburgh quarterback will not land because the No. 1 general decide like Burrow did in 2020. However when considered by way of the right lens, Pickett is having a season much like Burrow’s masterful 2019 and has positioned himself to ascend draft boards over the following few months after minimal — if any — draft hype earlier than his last collegiate marketing campaign.

And, get this — Pickett offers me severe Burrow vibes on movie. Burrow was an older prospect who turned 24 in December of his rookie 12 months within the NFL. Pickett turns 24 in June. 

Parallels galore! 

From a basic statistical perspective, this is how the 2 stack up by way of six video games of their last school seasons: 

As you’ll be able to see, Pickett hasn’t precisely been Burrow. And it reveals on movie. He is not fairly as sharp as Burrow was in that primarily flawless 2019. Let’s name Pickett “Burrow Lite.” 

We will not neglect, although — Burrow was throwing to future prime 5 decide Ja’Marr Chase, budding NFL famous person Justin Jefferson, 2021 second-round decide Terrace Marshall Jr and 2020 first-round operating again Clyde Edwards-Helaire.

Pittsburgh sophomore receiver Jordan Addison is a future NFL participant; perhaps he lands within the first spherical every time he declares. However Burrow was throwing to an NFL skill-position group. Pickett will not be. 

And Pickett hasn’t been a low-volume passer who simply occurs to have tossed a plethora of touchdowns with just one interception. He has three 380-plus-yard outings together with a 403-yard, five-touchdown, zero-pick efficiency towards New Hampshire on the finish of the September. 

Now, again to the stylistic comparisons. Inform me this play from Pickett towards Virginia Tech does not look equivalent to Burrow within the SEC two years in the past. 

Or how about this delicate drift within the pocket and bucket throw down the sphere towards Western Michigan? 

It’s totally related, and never simply because Burrow donned a yellow helmet in school, too. Come on, I am higher than that, guys. 

As for the misleading improvisational brilliance integral in Burrow’s rise from Day 3 mission to probably the most beloved prospect within the 2020 draft? Yeah, Pickett has proven that, too, many occasions by way of six video games. 

Verify the pace at which he eludes the within rusher, instantly turns into a ball provider and strikes the chains. 

Like Burrow, Pickett has a barely above-average arm — not a howitzer — loves stretching the sphere vertically and has a eager ad-libbing sense when issues break down. He is been wildly productive in his last school season. 

Plus, Pickett is significantly extra skilled. Burrow threw 945 passes mixed at Ohio State and LSU. Pickett is already at 1,382 makes an attempt at Pittsburgh.

Crazier issues have occurred, however Pickett is unlikely to even land within the prime 10 of the 2022 NFL Draft. Nonetheless, the Burrow-esque prospect is having a Burrow-esque expertise in his senior marketing campaign with the Panthers that he’ll parlay right into a Burrow-esque ascent throughout the pre-draft course of — all the best way into the primary spherical.