Kenny Pickett is hoping to become the latest first-round pick to improve his status in the NFL.
Former Steelers no. The 20 overall pick is on his fifth team in four years, having bounced from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia to Cleveland to Las Vegas. This offseason, he signed in Carolina to learn under coach Dave Canales, competing for the backup spot behind Bryce Young.
“No. 1, I think it was Coach Canales and the track record he has with quarterbacks in all the places he’s been,” Pickett said Tuesday of why he chose the Panthers, via The Charlotte Observer . “You know in his career, I’ve watched a lot of tape. I’ve seen him in different places and I really like what he does.
“I feel like it was similar to what I’ve done in college and what I did in Philly. So that’s No. 1 for me.”
Canales helped rejuvenate Geno Smith’s career in Seattle, kept the ball rolling with Baker Mayfield in Tampa Bay and has Young on track in Carolina.
Young is an established starter, but Pickett said their similar playing styles could help both backs hold up.
“I think so.” [Bryce and I are] very similar in the way we play,” Pickett said. “I think we both do well out of the pocket, and when things break down, we can play on the go. I think the coach does a lot of things with actions, boots, you get out on the wing and we can both throw the ball well on the run.
“So, I think I think we complement each other in what we do. We’re excited to learn more about how he sees things, talk X’s and O’s and get to know him better as a person first. But yeah, I think it’s definitely exciting to be in a room where you feel like we play like we play the same way and we pretty much the same mold of what they’re looking for here.”