We’re almost to the end of January and the pre-draft speculation has already hit full-speed nearly three months away from the 2023 NFL Draft getting underway. The Pittsburgh Steelers have had their own pre-draft rumblings, including the potential reunion of two former college teammates. That would be former Pitt QB Kenny Pickett and his former #1 WR Jordan Addison who transferred from Pitt to USC last season before entering his name into this year’s draft class.
The Addison-to-Pittsburgh rumors have been running hot in recent weeks due to this previous connection between Addison and Pickett. Heck, Pickett has been asked multiple times on media interviews about a potential reunion with his former #1 WR, stating time-and-again that he hopes he ends up in the Black and Gold.
NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah recently revealed his first edition of his 2023 NFL Mock Draft, projecting the Steelers to take Florida OG O’Cyrus Torrence. However, on The Move The Sticks episode where Jeremiah broke down his mock draft, he did mention the possibility of Pickett and Addison teaming up once again in the same stadium where they broke numerous records together.
“I will say this… it’s kind of an interesting spot,” Jeremiah said on Move The Sticks. “17… the Pittsburgh Steelers. I know they have pieces. Obviously love what they got from George Pickens, but man, you’ve got a quarterback in Kenny Pickett who make some sweet, sweet music with Jordan Addison at Pitt. That would be tempting, even though they have an offensive line that needs to be addressed. I’m sure corner is big on their priority list, but that would be a fun one to see those guys to get back together where they played college ball together.”
Jeremiah is one of the most-respected analysts in the industry, making his claim carry some weight, albeit this early in the pre-draft process. He makes a good point many fans will point to, crying for improvement along the offensive and defensive lines as well as finding a true CB1. However, Pickett only had four games above 200 passing yards on the year, and while Diontae Johnson, George Pickens, and Pat Freiermuth are great options in the passing game, they could stand to add another impact playmaker to stress opposing defenses and open a passing game to create a more well-rounded offense.
The Bengals laid the blueprint for this exact scenario two years ago, opting to draft WR Ja’Marr Chase over improving a mediocre offensive line to give QB Joe Burrow a reliable weapon he already has some chemistry with back at LSU. The Steelers could do the same thing this spring, opting to select WR Jordan Addison over other positions of need for a player that won the Biletnikoff playing with Pickett at Pitt. We have three months before the answer becomes clear, but for now, we should give the potential Pickett/Addison reunion some merit until proven otherwise.
