The headline reads the Pittsburgh Steelers have “sent” Mike Tomlin, Kevin Colbert, and Matt Canada to Pitt’s Pro Day. But it was a trip that only required a short walk. The “big three” of Tomlin, Colbert, and Canada are on-hand today for the Panthers’ Pro Day, primarily to see QB Kenny Pickett, one of the top quarterbacks in this class.
Tomlin was spotted on the ACC Network’s broadcast.
While Senior Bowl Director Jim Nagy tweeted out the list of OCs, QB Coaches, and GMs who were all scheduled to attend.
Pickett is the main attraction and is battling to be the first quarterback selected in this year’s draft. He enjoyed a stellar senior season, throwing for 42 touchdowns as he led Pitt to an 11-win season. Coming from a West Coast system, he is viewed as the most NFL-ready passer, though scouts have questions about his overall upside. His hand size has also a historically low outlier, though he measured in at 8 5/8 inches today, up slightly from his Combine measurement of 8 1/2 (those stretching exercises must be working).
While Pitt is next door to the Steelers’ facility, it’s actually uncommon to see Colbert and Tomlin attend its Pro Day. This is the first time since we began tracking Pro Days in 2017 that either has attended the Panthers’ workout. The team always has a presence there but often in the form of positional coaches or scouts. It’s unclear if QBs Coach Mike Sullivan is attending, though Nagy doesn’t have the Steelers listed among the group of QBs coaches in attendance. We know “cap guy” Omar Khan is also on-hand, as tweeted by KDKA’s Rich Walsh. As is newly promoted DC Teryl Austin, per NFL Network’s Aditi Kinkhabwala.
Having Tomlin and Colbert there is a big box-check for Pickett given the strong correlation between Tomlin/Colbert’s Pro Day attendance and the team’s first-round pick. Every first-round selection since at least 2010 has had one or both attend their pick’s workout.
As we wrote this morning, it could be a busy week for Tomlin and Colbert to check out the top QBs in the draft. Tomorrow is Liberty and Malik Willis’ Pro Day followed by Cincinnati’s Desmond Ridder and Ole Miss’ Matt Corral later in the week. Sam Howell and North Carolina’s workout will take place next Monday.
The Steelers are from the only team in need of a quarterback. The Carolina Panthers have been connected to Pickett in particular. Head coach Matt Rhule attempted to recruit Pickett to Temple. Rhule and Panthers’ GM Scott Fitterer are also attending today’s workout. The Panthers currently hold the sixth pick in this year’s draft while the Steelers don’t select until #20.
Other notable players working out at today’s Panthers’ Pro Day include CB Damarri Mathis and LS Cal Adomitis. Mathis is an athletic, physical slot corner, and you’d be hard-pressed to find a player with more experience than Adomitis’ 64 career starts.
Check out our report on Pickett below.
