Despite only entering his second year in the NFL, Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett has been impressing early in OTA. Not only have his teammates consistently raved about his leadership ability, but also they think he looks like a damn good player early on in OTA’s.
New free agent signing, linebacker Elandon Roberts, met with the media today and was asked to speak on Pickett and what he thought of him. In a video posted to Steelers Live Twitter account, Roberts said he believes Pickett is “light years” ahead of other second-year players.
“Do I feel like he looks good out there as a quarterback? Yes,” said Roberts. “But, it’s a lot more that goes with the offense and me just looking at it, it’s like, ‘Man, this kid is going into his second year is like light years ahead.”
Pickett does have an advantage of being an older player as he will be 25 by the time the season rolls around, but that doesn’t take away how much he has improved. Pickett showed improvement during the season last year and after a full offseason to watch film and train it is hard not to expect him to improve.
In fact, Roberts went up against Pickett last season when the Steelers played his Miami Dolphins in Week Seven. Pickett had one of his worst games of the season after returning from a concussion, tossing three interceptions in a close 16-10 loss. While Roberts may have seen Pickett at his worst last year he may be seeing Pickett as his current best now.
While Pickett has been praised ad nauseam for his leadership ability this offseason, it is nice to hear Pickett’s play praised. Most of us are expecting a second-year jump, but hearing it from a defender who is going against Pickett in practice is nice.
We will have to wait until training camp until we get to see for ourselves how Pickett looks, but reports early on sound like Kenny Pickett is poised for a breakout season in 2023.
