Less than a week away from the start of the 2022 NFL Draft, the buzz regarding prospects, ideal landing spots and overall fits is through the roof at this point in time.
For the Pittsburgh Steelers, all that buzz is focused on the quarterback position and who the Steelers will land in the first round next Thursday in Las Vegas from the five of Ole Miss’s Matt Corral, Pittsburgh’s Kenny Pickett, Liberty’s Malik Willis, Cincinnati’s Desmond Ridder, and North Carolina’s Sam Howell.
According to ESPN NFL Draft analyst Matt Miller, the Steelers are not sold on any QB in the class but Pickett, he reported in a draft news and notes article Friday ahead of the 2022 NFL Draft.
“It might just be a late draft-season smoke screen, but there is a lot of chatter about the Steelers not being sold on quarterbacks other than Pitt’s Kenny Pickett in this class,” Miller writes. “The Steelers famously attended several pro days and had the top quarterbacks on their radar this offseason, but the rumors dominating the text lines this week have Pittsburgh potentially going offensive tackle in Round 1 if the quarterbacks aren’t available.”
Well, that sure is something.
The Steelers have known Pickett for years now and did heavily attend his Pro Day, which just so happened to be in the same facility that houses the Steelers.
Pittsburgh has certainly done a ton of work overall on the quarterback position ahead of the 2022 NFL Draft, but the general buzz and obvious attention paid towards a guy like Pickett like there has been with Willis and Ridder hasn’t quite been there, which would make the selection of Pickett a bit of a surprise overall.
Add in the fact that Pickett is 24 years old and is pretty much as pro-ready as they come, it would be a tough sell to all of a sudden have him sit behind Mitch Trubisky early on. It wouldn’t be a QB competition at least, considering the biggest reason Trubisky signed in Pittsburgh was to get back on to the field right away, especially with how much the Steelers are paying him.
The fit is certainly there from a scheme standpoint though, and definitely from all the boxes needed to be checked for him to be an option in the first round for the Steelers. It would just be a surprise to see the Steelers pull the trigger on Pickett in the first round, knowing how the roster is constructed and what they’re looking for overall at the position.
