Defensive backs lineage continues with three Panthers eligible for NFL Draft

Five of the previous six NFL Drafts have seen at least one Pitt defensive back get selected.

In 2018, Jordan Whitehead and Avonte Maddox transported from the South Side to the pros, and that began a run of eight DBs in six years who would make that trek. The 2023 draft didn't produce picks from the Panthers' secondary until the sixth round, but it's clear that the pedigree established from Pat Narduzzi's defense has caught on with NFL teams enough to warrant Erick Hallett III and Brandon Hill to be chosen as players to help fill out depth spots for a bargain.

Three more former Panthers defensive backs will wait to hear their names called come April 25, 26, and 27 during the 2024 draft, though the likelihood is that neither of M.J. Devonshire, A.J. Woods, or Marquis Williams would gather attention until Day 3 of the process. Should any of these three be selected, it would continue what has become a recent tradition from within the Pitt program.

"I think the one thing that separates us is our mentality," Devonshire said. "I tell a lot of guys -- young guys ask me, 'what makes you good in the system?' -- it's your mentality. A lot of guys, they go places and they may get to play off. Here you've got to sit and press a guy and you're in his face all day and it's just you and him one on one, no help. You're on an island, truly, so you've got to have the right mentality to be successful in that. That's where it starts."

Devonshire has the highest projection with respect to his counterparts in this draft. Per the Mock Draft Database Devonshire ranks as the consensus 214th-best prospect in this field, which is a steep climb from the ranking of 255th overall he was tagged with before the NFL Combine at the beginning of March.

Devonshire ran a 4.45-second 40-yard dash, jumped a 38 1/2-inch vertical, leaped a 10-foot-4 broad jump, and ran a 7.12-second three-cone and 4.35-second short shuttle at the NFL Combine. At Pitt's pro day Wednesday, Devonshire improved his three-cone time to a 6.92, which would have been fourth among cornerbacks at the Combine. He also put up 10 bench press reps after not lifting at the Combine.

The Aliquippa native Devonshire's 6-foot-7 wingspan is an excellent measurement for someone who is 5-foot-11. His length could prompt a move to the nickel spot given his capabilities in press coverage. He said he has pre-draft visits scheduled with the Bills and Steelers.

He is drawing mock draft selections on Day 3 on a consensus basis. A post-Combine mock done by the USA Today's "Lions Wire" has Devonshire going to the Lions in the fourth round. Of the other five post-Combine mocks with Devonshire selected, two have him being selected in the fifth round, two have him going in the sixth round, and one has him going in the seventh round.

Devonshire said he gleaned some tips from Woods after he returned from the Combine, and that helped him gain a better time in the three-cone Wednesday.

"I didn't run the times in the shuttle that I wanted to at the Combine, and I was like, 'I've got to get back to it,' and A.J. showed up and I was like, 'let me watch A.J. run,'" Devonshire said. "It just brought the competitive nature out of me to run a better time. Didn't beat him but I ran a better time than I did at the Combine. So, just that competitive nature."

A pair of post-combine mocks see Woods creeping into the seventh round, but more could be coming after Woods posted a strong showing at pro day. 

Woods' unofficially timed 6.50-second three-cone drill would have led all participants at the Combine by 0.12 seconds, and his unofficial 4.30 40-yard dash would have been second behind Clemson's Nate Wiggins, a projected first-rounder. Woods is a bit smaller than the average cornerback but his speed and strength (16 bench press reps) make him as a prime candidate as an undrafted free agent signee and a project player.

Woods did not receive an invite to the Combine, but he wouldn't be the first former Panthers DB to have been snubbed from the scouting event who ended up being drafted. Jason Pinnock falls into this category. After not being invited to the Combine in 2021, Pinnock was selected in the fifth round by the Jets.

"Pitt has always had a rich history of putting DBs in the NFL and they stick," Woods said. "Dane Jackson just got a contract extension with the (Carolina) Panthers and I played with all of these guys. I try and emulate a lot of things that they've done because they were successful, they were able to make it work. Seeing (Pinnock) out here and having him watch us compete was big. ... I think that because we have such a rich history we have a certain skillset that coach Narduzzi's defense translates well to the NFL. So, we're bred to be fast, physical corners that have no problem playing press-man with whoever. By the time we get to the league those skills translate. We're not afraid to get in anybody's face and press."

And it's not a coincidence that, as Woods mentioned, Pinnock was back inside of the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex alongside Jackson and Damar Hamlin to watch their former teammates test to become their current teammates:

"I think that's so impressive. They didn't have to do that," Narduzzi said. "Why did they come back? It's family. It shows you how our guys act and they want to see them work out just for pro day. ... You think about it, that's what they do in the NFL. They're not playing a lot of zone coverage and letting those guys get into zones. You better be able to play man coverage and that's why our guys have had so much success."

Williams has experience (44 starts) but has a longer shot at pro football by this stage. His 5-foot-8, 176-pound frame and 6-foot-2 wingspan would most likely limit him to the nickel position within the league, should he earn an opportunity. It helps hat he has started in 44 games as a Panther, which provided plenty of exposure to the patented press-man style that has translated to the NFL for so many in such a short amount of time.

"We play a lot of man-to-man and that's getting us ready for the NFL," Williams said. "The NFL plays a lot of man. I believe we're the toughest school on the outside playing press-man and doing what we're doing on defense, being able to make plays and tackle in space."