PurplePTSD: Vikings Draft Profile: QB Kenny Pickett

Press release from the PurplePTSD:

Josh Frey

2022-02-04

The Minnesota Vikings are about a month into their offseason, and they have brought in an exciting new GM while they are also on the brink of bringing in a young, offensive-minded head coach. There is still some uncertainty around the future of current QB Kirk Cousins though. With that, there could be a search for a new player under center, and that could lead the Vikings to take a quarterback in the 2022 NFL Draft. Kenny Pickett is an intriguing prospect at the position, but how would he fit onto the Minnesota Vikings?

Statistics

Strengths

Ever since his freshman season, the redshirt senior has consistently improved his accuracy as a passer. This culminated in a terrific 2021 season where Kenny Pickett threw 38 times per game and still completed over 67% of his passes. Pickett has one of the strongest arms in this entire draft class, and he is far more consistent with his downfield passes. His throwing motion his very fast, and the ball zips out of his hand on release.

While not being a mobile QB by any means, he does a solid job of addressing pressure in the pocket. Instead of panicking, he steps up while also being able to roll out when necessary. Additionally, he’s proven to become a bit of a threat as a goal line rusher over time. He ran for 13 TDs combined over the course of the 2020 and 2021 seasons.

His confidence can sometimes spill over into a weakness, but one thing is for certain: he doesn’t lack in that quality. He is a gunslinger through and through, and he typically picks good places to take chances on throws. His leadership in the Pittsburgh program is well-documented as well.

Weaknesses

Pickett is one of the best in this class at placing the ball where he wants it, but he isn’t without the occasional miss. On these off-days it seems Pickett had one too many bowls of Wheaties because the passes often sail over the heads of his receivers. These misses haven’t resulted in alarming amounts of interceptions over the years, but it could be an issue at the NFL level.

Additionally, a lot of these inaccurate throws happen when he is forced to throw on the move. He’s certainly comfortable having to maneuver in the pocket, but when he’s forced to roll out and throw, the passes start becoming erratic. Whatever NFL offense he runs should revolve around keeping him in a clean pocket as often as possible.

Pickett’s Fit on the 2022 Vikings

There is very little chance that Kenny Pickett falls out of the first round in this draft, and he probably doesn’t get any further than Pittsburgh at No. 20 overall. This means the Vikings would have to select him with their first-round pick at No. 12. Pickett carries a lot of the positive traits that the Vikings have with Kirk Cousins: good arm strength, accuracy, maneuverability in the pocket. It could also result in an exciting young LT/QB/WR core of Christian Darrisaw, Kenny Pickett, and Justin Jefferson. This certainly fits the theme of the Minnesota Vikings offseason to this point. It certainly would be a talented group with potential for growth. There’s also a chance that Pickett results in being a more vocal leader than Cousins has been over the past few years, which could have some positive implications.

However, if Minnesota does not improve the interior of their offensive line in 2022, this could be a problem. As noted above, Pickett has not been a terrific passer on the move, and this is something that Cousins has quietly been quite successful at doing over his career. There are free agents out there and more draft prospects later in the draft that could help with this. This would be going all-in on the offense in 2022 though, leaving the defense with a multitude of question marks.

This press release was produced by the PurplePTSD. The views expressed here are the author’s own.