It’s no secret that the Pittsburgh Steelers are heavily interested in the quarterback position ahead of the 2022 NFL Draft, and are very likely to draft a signal caller in the first round next Thursday in Las Vegas.
After endless months of speculation surrounding guys like Liberty’s Malik Willis, Ole Miss’s Matt Corral, Cincinnati’s Desmond Ridder, North Carolina’s Sam Howell, and Pittsburgh’s Kenny Pickett, there’s one clear-cut guy for NFL Network draft expert Daniel Jeremiah that makes the most sense for the black and gold in the first round.
The Steelers should be pretty familiar with him too, considering Jeremiah believes Pickett — who shares a facility with the Steelers on the South Side — is the best fit for the Steelers.
Speaking with the media Thursday during his yearly NFL Draft media press conference, Jeremiah answered a number of questions regarding next week’s draft, but his comments the best fit for the Steelers being Pickett really stood out.
“Obviously somebody they’d be a little bit familiar with,” Jeremiah said of Pickett. “He’s my No. 1 quarterback. I’ve kind of stuck with him through this whole process. If it was up to me, looking at that team and the best fit, I actually would probably lean towards Kenny Pickett.”
The Steelers were heavily present for Pickett’s Pro Day in late March on the South Side, and GM Kevin Colbert scouted the Pittsburgh star throughout his breakout 2021 season, resulting in a Heisman finalist showing.
Currently, Pickett is ranked as the No. 20 overall prospect in the 2022 NFL Draft class by NFL.com and the No. 2 overall quarterback behind perceived Steelers’ draft darling Malik Willis out of Liberty.
Pickett is arguably the most pro-ready quarterback in the 2022 NFL Draft, which makes his fit in Pittsburgh a bit of a question mark, considering the aggressiveness in which the Steelers went after quarterback Mitch Trubisky in free agency, offering him a clear path to the starting job once again.
Of course, that shouldn’t hinder the Steelers from drafting a quarterback in the first round if they like them.
