I know we’ve spent plenty of time this week talking about Kenny Pickett and Jordan Addison. But Pickett offered his clearest praise and wish for Addison to go from former college teammate to current NFL one. Appearing on today’s Pat McAfee Show, Pickett said Addison would look good returning to Pittsburgh.
“I’m excited to see where he ends up,” Pickett said to McAfee. “Hopefully in the black and gold.”
Addison broke out in 2021 at Pitt catching passes from Pickett. A true sophomore, he caught 100 passes for 1593 yards and 17 touchdowns while chipping in another rushing score. He became the NCAA’s Biletnikoff Winner, the trophy given to college football’s best wide receiver, becoming the third Pitt Panther to ever win it and the first since Larry Fitzgerald. Good company to keep.
Pickett went to the draft after the 2021 season while Addison transferred to USC, securing a mega-NIL deal. His numbers were a bit down in 2022, 59 receptions for 875 yards and eight touchdowns across 11 games but he still made impactful plays and led the Trojans in every statistical receiving category.
The only knock on Addison is a potential lack of great speed but Pickett says he’ll surprise people when he runs at this year’s Combine.
“He’s a talented guy. He’s one of the best I’ve been around…his speed will surprise people. I don’t think people are giving him enough credit for the speed.”
Pickett said he plans on heading to Florida to train with Addison later this year.
Addison is regarded as one of the top receivers in the class and a potential first round pick. It’ll be a question of how early the Steelers consider taking a wide receiver. It’s a need and Addison is a strong fit in the slot but the team may focus on building through the trenches. They’re also not an organization that tends to take receivers in the first round. The last time they did was trading up in the first round for Santonio Holmes in 2006, the year before Mike Tomlin arrived.
But just in the way that being around Pickett made the Steelers more comfortable to take him, they could adopt the same approach with Addison, especially if he happens to fall to the second round where Pittsburgh holds the top pick they acquired from the Chicago Bears in the Chase Claypool deal.
We’re currently finishing up our scouting report on Addison. That will be posted in the coming days.
