The 2022 Reese’s Senior Bowl has officially kicked off. The day began with the introductory press conference from Senior Bowl Executive Director Jim Nagy, along with players Kenny Pickett and Phidarian Mathis. Kenny Pickett addressed concerns over his hand size during the press conference before heading across town as both teams kicked off their week of practices.
Be sure to follow NFL Draft Lounge for more coverage on the 2022 Senior Bowl, as we all as daily recap articles. As always, you can find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Kenny Pickett Hand Size
While this isn’t a new topic of conversation, it’s clearly one that has ignited recently. Kenny Pickett opted not to have his hand size measured at the Reese’s Senior Bowl weigh-ins, which sparked the conversation. According to some, it’s assumed that Pickett could measure in at 8 1/2 inch hands, which is considerably smaller than the average in the NFL.
In my opinion, it would have been much ado about nothing had Pickett just gone ahead and had his hands measured. However, he will have them measured at the NFL Combine in March.
Pickett addressed the hand size concerns during the Senior Bowl opening press conference on Tuesday. To his credit, he attacked the concerns head on. Pickett is double-jointed, so he’s currently undergoing mobility stretches as he prepares for the NFL Combine. Finally, the former Pitt QB also brought up the fact that he played college ball in Pittsburgh, which doesn’t have the best football weather.
Quarterbacks Struggle Early
The New York Jets kicked off the Senior Bowl practices as the organization leading the National team. Kenny Pickett, Desmond Ridder, and Carson Strong are the quarterbacks under the Jets guidance. All three struggled with accuracy at times throughout the practice, but did improve as the day went on.
Following the National team practice, the Detroit Lions and the American team took the field. Malik Willis, Sam Howell, and Bailey Zappe are the quarterbacks that the Lions are coaching. Western Kentucky QB Bailey Zappe, who has primarily worked out of the shotgun formation, struggled throughout the practice handling snaps. Further, the Lions staff had all three throwing out routes from the hash to outside the numbers, which all three struggled with.
However, it should denoted that all six of these quarterbacks are working with brand new receivers, so the chemistry isn’t there quite yet.
Rain In The Forecast
While it was an overcast day today, that’s not the case for the rest of the week. Rain is predicted for the next two days, which will likely shift the practices to the indoor facilities.
Nevertheless, Brian Lamb will be covering the 2022 Reese’s Senior Bowl and will have additional recap articles.
