Zacch Pickens Scouting Report

By: Michael Higgins

(Image courtesy of Scott Winters/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

School: South Carolina (Senior)

Position: DT

HT: 6’4

WT: 304 lbs

Sideline Prospect Ranking: #80

Zacch Pickens was one of the top high school recruits in the country. He was a consensus 5-star recruit and a top-10 player in the country. He was the top DT in the country and came from Anderson, South Carolina. Pickens attended T.L. Hanna High School where he was an unstoppable force. He excelled both athletically and academically, graduating a semester early and also being named the state’s Player of the Year. As he was a top player in the country, he had his pick of the litter in terms of where he wanted to go to college. He ultimately chose to stay home and commit to the University of South Carolina over the likes of Alabama, Clemson, and Auburn. As Pickens enrolled at South Carolina early, he was able to go through spring drills and get acclimated to the team, his role, and the campus. He was named to the SEC All-Freshman team and appeared in all 12 games. Throughout his career at South Carolina, he received numerous honors and nominations as a player, but he also earned academic awards. Academics have always been just as important to Pickens as football has been.

Zacch Pickens has been the main man on the interior of the Gamecocks’ defensive line since he was a freshman. Pickens is able to go from a traditional nose tackle all the way to occasionally playing the 5-tech on the edge. Zacch Pickens has been a consistent and productive player for South Carolina. He is very strong, 1-on-1 matchups are rarely effective with Pickens as his violent hands and strong base sheds blockers with ease. He approaches run defending much differently than he approaches pass rushing. When defending the run, he does well to control gaps and not let the offensive linemen push him back and create a gap. When Pickens is rushing the passer, he uses moderate athleticism and his large frame to churn forward into the backfield.

His pass rushing statistics are not necessarily eye-popping on paper, but when factoring in positional values, his sack and pressure totals are very impressive. Pickens is big and has all the physical tools to succeed, but he has some areas that need work in order for him to be a consistent presence at the next level. Pickens, very obviously, struggles to compete against double teams. Pickens has been a presence on the South Carolina defensive line for years, but he has never put up a season where he just consistently won his assignment. He has his ups and downs in terms of consistency and that type of inconsistency will not get him by in the NFL like it did at South Carolina.

Zacch Pickens will add athleticism and an impressive resume to any defensive line in the NFL. He is going to be able to receive playing time in a rotational role, which may be good for him to showcase more of those flashes and work out his consistency issues.

Scheme Fit: Scheme Versatile

Ideal Role: Rotational 3-tech

Best Team Fits: SEA, DET, ATL

Player Comparison: Davon Godchaux

Player Grade: 74.9