Draft Notebook: Previewing the 2024 NFL Draft

The 2024 NFL Draft is being held this weekend in Detroit and there are several former Pitt players hoping to hear their names called over the course of the three-day event. The first round takes place tonight at 8:00 p.m. on ESPN, while the second and third rounds will be called out Friday starting at 7:00 p.m. with the remaining four rounds concluding Saturday at noon.

Here are the biggest storylines surrounding the draft as it pertains to Pitt.

Drafts under Duzz: This will be the ninth NFL Draft of players playing under Pat Narduzzi as head coach at Pitt. In the previous eight drafts, there has been at least one Pitt player selected in every class, starting with Tyler Boyd being the lone selection in 2016.

Coming off a high: Pitt had six players selected in the 2023 NFL Draft, led by Calijah Kancey’s going to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the first round. The six players selected in that individual draft class tied for the most for Pitt under Narduzzi with the 2021 draft class. The six in 2023 also tied Clemson for the most among any ACC program, and was fifth nationally.

Best in the ACC: Over the past three NFL Drafts, Pitt has seen 14 players selected, which is the most among all ACC football programs. It is one more than the 13 Clemson has produced during that stretch. The 14 picks over a three-year period is the best for Pitt in the modern seven-round NFL Draft which started in 1993.

Back-to-back first rounders: Pitt has had a first round pick in back to back years: Kenny Pickett 20th overall in 2022 and Kancey 19th in 2023. The Panthers have multiple draft candidates this year, but none a re projected to go on Thursday, meaning the streak will end at two with multiple first round picks. The last time Pitt had three straight years of having a first round pick occurred from 1987-89. Tony Woods went 18th overall in 1987, Craig ‘Ironhead’ Heyward went 24th overall in ’88, while Burt Grossman and Tom Ricketts each become first round picks in 1989.

2021 team can add to legacy: The 2021 Pitt football season has been the most successful under Narduzzi to date, and one of the best individual campaigns for the program since the 1980s. That Pitt team went 11-3 and won the ACC Championship convincingly 45-24 over Wake Forest. The key to having a successful team was simply having a bunch of good players.

Pitt can hit double digit draft picks from that 2021 team this year if Matt Goncalves, MJ Devonshire, or AJ Woods gets picked. Since that 2021 season ended, there have been nine players already picked by NFL teams. Pickett and Damarri Mathis in 2022, followed by Kancey, Izzy Abanikanda, Carter Warren, Sir’Vocea Dennis, Hallett, and Hill. Of course, there is Jordan Addison, too. Addison won the Biletnikoff Award with the Panthers in 2021 before finishing his career at USC then getting drafted by the Vikings last year. He can’t quite count as a Pitt draft pick, but was an NFL caliber player on a very good team.

Draftable DBs: Since the 2018 NFL Draft, Pitt has had a total of 19 played selected by NFL Teams. Of those 19, eight of them have been defensive backs. The Panthers have had a member of its secondary drafted in the last four NFL Drafts, including two last year when Erick Hallett went in the sixth round, followed by Brandon Hill in the seventh.

Aliquippa magic: Cornerback MJ Devonshire is a draft hopeful out of Pitt after a successful three-year run with the Panthers. Devonshire is a native of Aliquippa and was a big four-star recruit back in the class of 2019. He initially chose to play at Kentucky, before finishing strong at his hometown school totaling eight career interceptions and four touchdowns in a Pitt uniform.

Devonshire can add to an impressive legacy, which dates back to his hometown. Aliquippa is one of the more impressive high school football programs in the country. The five-time state championship program can win at a high level, and also produce some of the best players in the sport.

If he were to get picked this weekend, Devonshire will become the 16th player all-time from Aliquippa High School to get drafted. The linkage between Aliquippa and Pitt is real, and he could also become the sixth player to go from Aliquippa to Pitt to the NFL following Mike Ditka (1961), Sean Gilbert (1992), Josh Lay (2006), Darrelle Revis (2007), and Jon Baldwin (2011).

Built for the Draft: Bub Means stood out physically from the first time he stepped foot on Pitt campus. While his career had up and down production, the underlying thing about his game was his physical attributes. Means got to show that off at the combine and Pitt’s pro day during the pre-draft process. He posted a 4.43 40-yard dash time and also a 39.5 vertical while checking in at 6-1 and 212 pounds. Means totaled 68 catches for over 1,100 yards and 8 touchdowns at Pitt, which was modest compared to some other top draft hopefuls at receiver, but he seemingly made up ground with his workout performances.

First WR picked since…: Pitt had not had a wide receiver drafted since Tyler Boyd went 55th overall to the Cincinnati Bengals back in 2016. Of course, Pitt had an All-American wide receiver since then, but Jordan Addison chose to finish at USC, thus continuing the streak. Bub Means looks poised to end it this weekend.

Total transformation: When Pitt landed Matt Goncalves back in the 2019 class, he was a little-known prospect out of Long Island, an area not known produce high-level football players. Goncalves chose Pitt over offers from Buffalo and UConn, but quickly showed he was capable of playing at a power-five level.

He earned freshman All-American honors in 2020, and was a spot starter for the 2021 ACC championship team, and even started in the title game against Wake Forest. In 2022, injuries pressed him into being a full-time starter, and he took home third team All-ACC honors. Goncalves was projected to be one of the best linemen in the league this past season after earning preseason All-ACC recognition, but an injury sidelined him for the year in the middle of the third game of the season. Despite the setback, he is still expected to be drafted this weekend, which should complete an expected journey from unknown recruit to the NFL.

Will speed play?: AJ Woods is probably a step behind Devonshire, Goncalves, and Means in terms of being a draft prospect. There are some things working in his favor, including his speed. He ran a sub 4.4 forty at Pitt’s pro day last month, which certainly raised some eyebrows. He played in nearly 60 games during a five-year run at Pitt, and NFL teams have taken some chances on Panthers’ defensive backs in the past, so if anyone outside the three who were invited to the combine get picked, it feels like Woods has the best outside chance.