Putting players into the NFL is a goal for every college football team, and Pitt has been doing pretty well at doing just that lately.
Since the 2021 NFL Draft, Pitt has produced 14 draft picks — which is the 10th most in college football over that period. It’s also the most of any ACC school over that time period.
And Pitt has certainly been a gold standard in identifying and developing players that arrive on campus as two- or three-star recruits. Both of Pitt’s first round draft picks over the last two seasons, Kenny Pickett and Calijah Kancey, were low-to-mid level three-star prospects.
Since Pat Narduzzi has been at Pitt, the program has produced 25 NFL Draft picks.
2021
Patrick Jones — Round 3, Minnesota Vikings
Rashad Weaver — Round 4, Tennessee Titans
Jason Pinnock — Round 5, New York Jets
Jaylen Twyman — Round 6, Minnesota Vikings
Damar Hamlin — Round 6, Buffalo Bills
Jimmy Morrissey — Round 7, Las Vegas Raiders
2022
Kenny Pickett — Round 1, Pittsburgh Steelers
Damarri Mathis — Round 4, Denver Broncos
2023
Calijah Kancey — Round 1, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Carter Warren — Round 4, New York Jets
Israel Abanikanda — Round 5, New York Jets
SirVocea Dennis — Round 5, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Erick Hallett — Round 6, Jacksonville Jaguars
Brandon Hill — Round 7, Houston Texans
Georgia leads the way with an unprecedented 34 draft picks since 2021, and Alabama (27), LSU (23), Michigan (22), Ohio State (22), Penn State (20), Florida (17), Oklahoma (17), Cincinnati (16) and Pitt round out the Top 10.
North Carolina and Clemson (with 13 picks each) are the only other ACC schools with double-digit draft picks since 2021.
With an ACC title, the most wins over a two season stretch since the 1980s, two first round draft picks and a bunch more throughout the later rounds of the draft, Pitt is entering the 2023 season riding a wave of momentum.
And while there isn’t a sure-fire player who is garnering first round interest right now, the likes of Jake Kradel, M.J. Devonshire, Phil Jurkovec and Dayon Hayes (and potentially more) will all look to raise their draft stock in 2023.