The Pittsburgh Steelers wouldn’t have used a first-round pick on him if they didn’t believe that quarterback Kenny Pickett was going to become the face of their franchise. They knew he didn’t have to play right away, and they tried not to force him into the lineup, but the understanding was always that the pick was about the future, not the now.
Well, they seem to believe in 2023 that the future is now as we continue to hear consistent praise for the second-year man. The most recent report comes from Sherree Burruss on NFL Total Access on the NFL Network, who shared what she has been hearing coming out of the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex.
“What I’m hearing from inside the Steelers’ building is just how much more progress he’s made”, she said. “There’s glowing reviews for Pickett, especially for the fact that he now will have a full off-season program under his belt”.
While his growth as a team leader has been widely discussed, the plays he had been making on the practice field during OTAs and minicamp were less publicized. There’s good reason for that, since only so many people have access to that and are restricted in what they can say about it, but there had been accounts that match what Burruss is saying.
She also referenced what another NFL Network analyst, David Carr, shared, which included a text exchange from the Steelers’ quarterbacks coach, Mike Sullivan. “It said, ‘He is a GRINDER’, grinder in all caps, ‘picking up right where he left off in 2022, working his tail off this spring in the weight room, meetings, walkthroughs, and drills’”.
“And that goes hand in hand with what I was told earlier this offseason”, she continued. “Any chance Pickett had to be in that building, he was there. And the belief for the Steelers is they can go as far as Pickett takes them this season. But most importantly, what Kenny Pickett is doing right now, this offseason”.
Of course, putting in the work can only take you so far. Your talent has to take you the rest of the way. But I believe we saw enough last season to know that he has talent. And it sounds as though that’s been increasingly on display over the past couple of months.
The Steelers will host 16 open practices during training camp this year, so fans in the area, or those willing and able to travel, will have the opportunity to get a first-hand look at what a second-year jump from Pickett looks like before they roll it out onto the showroom floor for the first regular-season game.
Pickett did post a 7-5 record as a starter for the Steelers last year, with one of those losses not really on his shoulders, since he hardly played. His stat line was not as impressive as his tape. He finished the year going 245-for-389 passing, throwing for 2,404 yards with seven touchdowns to nine interceptions. He also rushed for 237 yards with three touchdowns. He only threw one interception in his final eight games.
