Three Pitt Panthers Invited to the 2024 NFL Combine

Former Pitt stars have had some standout moments at the NFL Combine over the years, and there’s a chance that it will happen again this year.

Matt Goncalves, Bub Means M.J. Devonshire will all be heading to the NFL Combine in Indianapolis at the end of the month with a golden opportunity to improve their draft stock ahead of the 2024 NFL Draft. All three are coming off appearances at the Shrine Bowl — with Means and Devonshire showing out.

It’s a week-long spectacle at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, where the top NFL Draft prospects run drills, meet and interview with NFL teams and have a chance to impress NFL personnel with their play and measurables.

Goncalves started all three games he played in last season, filling the crucial left tackle pivot, and he was expected to break out even further after a strong 2022 season. But a lower-body injury cut his season short.

Goncalves earned third-team All-ACC honors in 2022, taking 830 snaps last season, which only trailed Jake Kradel offensively, and he flashed the ability to play on either side of the line in the process.

He finished his career with appearances in 35 games (making 21 starts dating back to 2020), and his size (6-foot-6, 330 pounds) and versatility (able to play on the left and right side of the line) should entice scouts.

He earned a 71.9 PFF offensive grade in 2022, with 76.2 in pass blocking and a 67.2 in run blocking, in 830 snaps — starting all 13 games last season. According to PFF, he didn’t allow a sack while allowing five quarterback hits and 12 quarterback hurries. In 165 snaps last season, he allowed just four pressures and three hurries.

Means went through an up-and-down career at Pitt, experiencing some issues with drops throughout his two seasons in Pittsburgh, but he emerged as one of the best wide receivers in the ACC over the second half of the 2023 season.

Means hauled in 41 receptions for 721 yards and six touchdowns last season, but 650 yards and all six touchdowns came over the final eight games of the season — averaging a touch over 81 yards per game. In his Pitt career, he racked up 68 receptions for 1,122 yards (16.5 yards per reception) and eight touchdowns.

He earned an All-ACC honorable mention last season, and throughout the struggles he faced while at Pitt, his smile never left. Means was a leader in the wide receivers room, filling in for Jared Wayne after he left for the NFL after the 2022 season, and he was one of the veteran leaders across the roster throughout the rough 2023 season.

It wasn’t always the easiest senior season for Devonshire, especially not after entering the season with sky-high expectations, internally and externally, but he was exemplary at times against very good quarterbacks in very good offenses. And he knew he was capable of it, of course.

“Everybody has to face adversity at some point in your life, and coach Junko says it best, never get too high, never get too low, and maybe through the offseason I got too high,” Devonshire said during the season. “God has a plan for everybody, I truly believe that and I trusted it, there were some dark days, but when it stops raining, the sun gotta come out. You just gotta pray and keep going, and one day the sun’s going to come out.”

Devonshire finished the 2023 season with 32 tackles (18 solo), 0.5 tackles for loss, four interceptions (one returned for a touchdown) and 10 pass breakups. He was a workhorse in 2023, taking a team-high 662 defensive snaps, and according to PFF, he allowed a 47.4 completion percentage when targeted by opposing quarterbacks.

In his Pitt career, after playing his first two seasons at Kentucky, he finished with 83 tackles (51 solo), 1.5 tackles for loss, eight interceptions (three returned for touchdowns) and 21 pass breakups. And he was an All-ACC punt returner in 2022.

He finished his Pitt career as one of the best and most memorable cornerbacks of the Pat Narduzzi era.

The 2024 NFL Combine will begin on Monday, Feb. 26 and will run all week.