Pitt in the Pros: Which Panthers May be Selected in the 2024 NFL Draft

Pitt has had at least one selection in each of the last 10 NFL Drafts, dating back to defensive tackle Aaron Donald, quarterback Tom Savage and wide receiver Devin Street in the 2014 NFL Draft, and there’s an expectation that there will be a few more Panthers selected this weekend.

There may not be a first-round selection or six players selected over the course of the weekend, but there will likely be a few Panthers who hear their names called.

The 2024 NFL Draft kicks off Thursday, April 25 at 8 p.m. The spectacle is being held at Ford Field in Detroit, Mich. and will continue Friday (second and third rounds) and Saturday (fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh rounds).

Likely Draft Picks

Matt Goncalves — offensive tackle

He’s a big (6-foot-6, 330 pounds) offensive lineman, with experience at left and right tackle, who bided his time in Pittsburgh to emerge as a team captain and starting left tackle in the 2023 season. Unfortunately, his senior season was cut short due to injury. He started all three games he played last season, filling the crucial left tackle pivot, and he was expected to break out even further after a strong 2022 season.

Goncalves earned third-team All-ACC honors in 2022, taking 830 snaps last season, which only trailed fellow lineman Jake Kradel offensively and 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 and versatility should entice NFL personnel looking for a potential starting-caliber offensive lineman down the line.

Bub Means — wide receiver

Means legged out a 4.49 40-yard dash in his first attempt at the 2024 NFL Combine, and he came out even faster on his second attempt with an impressive 4.43 — one of the top marks among wide receivers in attendance.

He measured in at 6-foot-1, 212 pounds, and he has 33 2/8-inch arms, 10 1/8-inch hands and a 79 3/8-inch wingspan. It’s exactly what Means needed to showcase to NFL personnel, a well-built frame with above-average physical traits. He also put in a 39.5-inch vertical and a 10-foot-7-inch broad jump in the drills portion of his experience.

Obviously, the football aspect is paramount. Means, who by all accounts grew leaps and bounds during his time at Pitt, has to be able to show that he can compete — and thrive — at the next level. And it was certainly an up-and-down experience on the football field during his time as a Panther.

He hauled in 68 receptions for 1,122 yards (16.5 yards per reception) and eight touchdowns during his Pitt career, and he broke out as the leading receiver last season. It was a tale of two halves last season. He caught 41 balls for 721 yards and six touchdowns last season, but 650 yards and all six touchdowns came over the final eight games — averaging 81 receiving yards per game.

M.J. Devonshire — cornerback

He 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 just a 47.4 completion percentage when targeted by opposing quarterbacks.

And on the night that Darrelle Revis returned to Pittsburgh to be inducted into the Pitt Athletics Hall of Fame, serving as an honorary captain before the Louisville game, Devonshire showed up in a major upset win.

Louisville quarterback Jack Plummer targeted Devonshire 14 times Saturday night. 14. And Devonshire allowed just four completions for 34 yards, broke up five pass attempts and picked off Plummer once. It was a pretty impactful interception, too.

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.

Potential Draft Picks/UDFAs

A.J. Woods — cornerback

Woods runs well, his speed and agility are elite, and it’s not as if he’s just sat on the bench at Pitt. He played in 59 games over five seasons as a Panther (making 13 starts) and racked up over 1,700 defensive snaps. In those five seasons, playing as a special teamer as a freshman, he racked up 102 tackles (69 solo), seven tackles for loss, two sacks, four interceptions and 25 pass breakups. He’s honed himself against some of the best the ACC has to offer — and helped the Panthers win an ACC championship.

It’s a defensive scheme that breeds fast, physical cornerbacks, but that’s only if a cornerback is able to stick in the system. It’s not for everyone, but Woods embraced it.

Marquis Williams — cornerback

Williams racked up 26 tackles (16 solo), 2.5 tackles for loss, an interception and four pass breakups in 2023 — bringing his career totals to 109 tackles (86 solo), 5.5 tackles for loss, six interceptions (with two returned for touchdowns), 12 pass breakups and a forced fumble.

According to PFF, Williams allowed just 15 receptions for 210 yards and no touchdowns on 26 targets this season. He didn’t allow a single touchdown in two of his last three seasons at Pitt either.

Williams played in 60 games during his career in Pittsburgh, starting every game over the last three seasons as a key cog on and off the field for the Panthers.

Malcolm Epps — tight end

Epps has had an up-and-down college career since committing to Texas as a four-star tight end in the class of 2018, but he’s a huge pass catcher who’s had major success at times during his collegiate career — in which he’s recorded 46 receptions for 598 yards (13 yards per reception) and seven touchdowns.

In his one season at Pitt, he caught nine passes for 115 yards (12.8 yards per reception) and showcased a jumbo skillset at Pitt Pro Day.

Phil Jurkovec — tight end

Jurkovec completed 57-of-112 pass attempts (50.9%) for 818 yards with six touchdowns and three interceptions through four-and-a-half games last season, but it didn’t work as a quarterback.

He threw for 6,224 passing yards with 43 touchdowns and 20 interceptions — adding 627 yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground — in his college career. He put together his best season under Frank Cignetti Jr. at Boston College in 2020, but it went downhill in the following seasons.

He never truly played tight end at the college level, not with just a few games left in his collegiate career, but he measured and tested pretty well on Pro Day. He’s big and physical, but he tested well in the process — 33-inch vertical, 9-foot-4 broad jump and a 4.86 4-yard dash. He was happy with his jumping.

It remains to be seen whether or not Jurkovec will garner the NFL Draft interest he once expected, but he feels like his Pro Day showing (and perhaps his collegiate experience) will lead to an opportunity down the line.

Former Pitt Prospects

Kedon Slovis — quarterback

Slovis was an interesting case at Pitt.

In 11 games, missing the second half of the Tennessee loss in 2022, he completed 184-of-315 pass attempts (58.4%) for 2,397 yards with 10 touchdowns and nine interceptions. And despite a 9-4 record, capped by a win in the Sun Bowl, it was a largely disappointing season at the quarterback position.

Regardless, he showed potential during his stint at USC before arriving at Pitt. But in his lone season at BYU, he wasn’t exactly productive.

John Morgan III — defensive end

Morgan ended his Pitt career with 73 tackles (47 solo), 23 tackles for loss, 14 sacks and three forced fumbles, a recovery and two pass breakups. His best statistical season came in the 2021 ACC title-winning season, recording 27 tackles (19 solo), 6.5 tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks, a forced fumble and a recovery.

In one season at Arkansas, he recorded 15 tackles (eight solo), four tackles for loss, two sacks, a forced fumble and a pass breakup — in 11 games.