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| Photo credit: Joe Sargent/Getty Images |
I'll admit, I'm not a big mock draft guy. In fact, I've been pretty fed up with them flooding my Twitter feeds. However, I have paid attention to where Pitt players, or former Pitt players like Jordan Addison, have been projected to go in the upcoming draft. It's interesting to me as a Pitt fan, and I know if Pitt players are drafted high that it goes a long way to getting recruits and transfers in the future.
So I was very pleasantly surprised to see Calijah Kancey being drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles at No. 10! Now, of course I'd much rather see Kancey go to the Pittsburgh Steelers at No. 17, but I did not expect to see Kancey this high. In fact, I have seen Kancey as low as the third round in some analyst projections.
And obviously Mel Kiper isn't the end all be all when it comes to who is going where. He has actually become quite a character with the fast talking and the hairstyle. But I respect his opinion. And if he has Kancey going that high, I don't see him falling out of the 1st round.
This is great for Pitt. As one former Pitt defensive lineman, Aaron Donald, appears to be contemplating retiring, it is fitting to see another Pitt D-lineman take his place in the league. There are many reasons that a player chooses a school. But Pitt doesn't have a great on-campus stadium atmosphere to rely on. What Pat Narduzzi can rely on is that Pitt continues to be an NFL player factory. Even players who didn't particularly stand out at Pitt seem to make a career in the NFL.
If I'm standing in a player's living room trying to get them to my school, I talk about all of the money their son is going to make in the NFL just by being a Pitt Panthers. And if Kancey gets drafted opening night, Pitt will be on display again.