Tennessee Titans offensive lineman Peter Skoronski was the 11th overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.
A standout for the Northwestern Wildcats, Skoronski was the only player to decline an NFL Draft invite. Instead, Skoronski heard his name called in the local pizzeria where he was christened, with family, friends, and former coaches nearby.
The grandson of an Air Force veteran and Pro Bowl tackle that was a team captain for the Green Bay Packers under legendary head coach, Skoronski may have great football bloodlines, but he has been characterized as humble. That's an outstanding quality for anyone to have, especially a potential NFL star in a league often subject to hubris rather than humility.
“Peter is exactly who he is. He's not going to be the loud guy boasting walking down the hallway,” his former high school coach, Dave Inserra says (h/t USA TODAY's Paul Skrbina). “He’s not going to overtake a room. But when it’s time for business, heads up, because he’s all business.”
That said, Skoronski's vanilla personality might have prevented him from landing with at least one franchise, as Falcons head coach Arthur Smith reportedly found Skoronski “boring.”
“The head coach was on me the second I got in there,” Skoronski says of Smith (h/t The Athletic's Dan Pompei).
“I was giving them generic answers to their questions, and he said, “You're really boring me right now. Your answers are so boring.' The whole meeting, he kept looking at his computer. I was kind of laughing to myself and said, ‘Sorry, I don't know what you want me to do. I'm answering you honestly.'”
The Falcons wound up drafting former Texas Longhorns star, running back Bijan Robinson, with the eighth overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft instead.
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