Inside The Panthers

Pitt DT Calijah Kancey Mocked in First Round of NFL Draft

The Pitt Panthers' star defensive tackle will be picked in the first round if Pro Football Focus is correct.

Stephen Thompson

Pitt DT Calijah Kancey Mocked in First Round of NFL Draft
Pitt DT Calijah Kancey Mocked in First Round of NFL Draft /
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PITTSBURGH -- Pro Football Focus predicts a Pitt Panthers will be selected in the first round of the NFL Draft. 

One year after the Pittsburgh Steelers selected Kenny Pickett with their first pick, Trevor Sikkema believes the Detroit Lions will use their first selection on the Panthers' star defensive tackle, Calijah Kancey. 

"In a defensive tackle class that feels light on impact players after Jalen Carter, Calijah Kancey sure made his case to be the second one selected this coming April," Sikkema wrote. "Though he’s undersized at 6-foot-1 and 280 pounds, he is an absolute menace on the interior with fantastic burst, great use of natural leverage, the fastest hands in the east and a motor that just does not quit. He recorded 27.5 tackles for loss and 14.5 sacks over the past two seasons with a 22.7% pass rush win rate.

Kancey was a unanimous All-American and ACC Defensive Player of the Year this past season after recording 31 tackles, 14.5 for a loss and 7.5 sacks in 11 games this year. He suffered a shoulder injury that kept him out of the regular season finale and will sideline him for the Sun Bowl against No. 18 UCLA, but Kancey still led the country's interior defensive linemen in tackles for loss.

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Stephen Thompson
STEPHEN THOMPSON

Stephen Thompson graduated with a bachelor's degree in communications and political science from Pitt in April 2022 after spending four years as a sports writer and editor at The Pitt News, the University of Pittsburgh's independent, student-run newspaper.  He primarily worked the Pitt men's basketball beat, and filled in on coverage of football, volleyball, softball, gymnastics and lacrosse, in addition to other sports as needed. His work at The Pitt News has won awards from the Pennsylvania News Media Association and Associated College Press.  During the spring and summer of 2021, Stephen interned for Pittsburgh Sports Now, covering baseball in western Pennsylvania. Hailing from Washington D.C., family ties have cultivated a love of Boston's professional teams and Pitt athletics, and a fascination with sports in general.  You can reach Stephen by email at stephenethompson00@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter. Read his latest work:

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