Pitt WR Named Favorite by ESPN's Mel Kiper

The Pitt Panthers may have a sleeper in the NFL Draft.

Pittsburgh Panthers wide receiver Bub Means (0) catches a pass overCincinnati Bearcats safety / Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY

PITTSBURGH -- Pitt Panthers wide receiver Bub Means is someone that will pose an interesting decision for NFL teams to make this week during the NFL Draft.

Means spent the past two seasons at Pitt, catching 68 passes for 1,122 yards and eight touchdowns, the second-highest yardage total of any Pitt pass-catcher over that span. While those numbers might not come as elite to many, he excelled inspite of some of the worst Pitt quarterback play in recent memory.

His performance at the NFL Combine gave scouts a chance to see his talents, running the 40-yard dash in 4.43 seconds and the 10-yard split in 1.55 seconds, as well as a 39.5 inch vertical jump and a 10-foot-2 broad jump.

ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. is someone that really likes Means and what he can do at the NFL level, so much so, he picked him as his favorite wide receiver prospect in the upcoming draft.

"At 6-foot-1 and 212 pounds, Means has an intriguing blend of size, strength and speed," Kiper wrote. "He ran a 4.43-second 40-yard dash at the combine and had a 39.5-inch vertical leap. He put up solid numbers even with some rough quarterback play. And he has huge hands and long arms. There's a lot to like here for wide receiver coaches."

Kiper predicts that Means will go on Day Two of the Draft in the Third Round, but he still thinks that Means will need time to develop until he gets to his full potential.

He is not the only draft analyst that has heaped praise onto Means prior to the Draft. Pete Frisco of CBS Sports and Dane Brugler of The Athletic both wrote positively about the Pitt wide out recently.

Means is looking to become the first Pitt wide receiver to earn an NFL Draft selection since star wide out Tyler Boyd did so with the Cincinnati Bengals in 2016.

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