Former Pitt quarterback Peterman drafted to Bills in the fifth round
At the end of the college football season, former Pitt quarterback Nathan Peterman put his head down and went to work preparing for the NFL Draft. He was so focused on the process, he didn't even bother to read the considerable number of press clippings about his pro prospects.
He finally looked up Saturday and saw he was drafted in the fifth round (171 overall) by the Buffalo Bills. Peterman is the 10th quarterback drafted by the Bills since the retirement of Jim Kelly; none have gone to the Pro Bowl.
Peterman will compete with Bills starter Tyrod Taylor, who is signed for only the next two seasons.
Peterman was the eighth quarterback selected after North Carolina's Mitchell Trubisky, Texas Tech's Patrick Mahomes, Clemson's Deshaun Watson, Notre Dame's DeShone Kizer, California's Davis Webb, Iowa's C.J. Beathard and Tennessee Joshua Dobbs. Peterman transferred to Pitt after losing the starting job at Tennessee to Dobbs.
During taping of ESPN's “Gruden QB Camp” earlier this month, Super Bowl-winning coach Jon Gruden said Peterman was “about as NFL-ready as any quarterback we've had come through here (in eight years).
“Your ability in the pocket, I hate to say it, but it's professional.”
Peterman is the first Pitt quarterback drafted before the fourth round since Dan Marino, a first-round pick in 1983.
When Peterman transferred to Pitt from Tennessee in 2015, he wasn't the favorite to become the starter that season. But he started the third game against Iowa, and all 24 after that.
His best game was in one of the most difficult venues in college football -- Clemson's Death Valley.
But Peterman threw five touchdown passes while leading Pitt to a 43-42 victory against eventual national champion Clemson.
In two seasons at Pitt, he completed 378 of 620 pass attempts for 5,142 yards, 47 touchdowns and 15 interceptions.
“I think Buffalo got an incredible steal in Nathan,” Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi said in a statement. “He's a highly intelligent player and leader. There's a reason he was the ACC's passing efficiency leader as a senior (163.37). Nathan will be a great asset on and off the field for the Bills.”
