Entering his second year of professional football, Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett still has a long way to go until we know how good he can be. He’s young and reports out of camp have been glowing, but as of right now, we don’t know his ceiling. What we do know is that his ceiling likely won’t be how he plays this season, but going into the 2023 season where does Pickett rank among NFL quarterbacks?
According to Dalton Miller of Pro Football Network, Pickett is a Tier Four quarterback, which he calls “Useful, But Limited.” Overall, Pickett is ranked at 21 with room to improve.
“Kenny Pickett might end up being sneaky good in the long run,” wrote Miller. “Pickett must improve as a consistent in-structure processor, but despite having an underwhelming arm he has the ability to consistently make plays on the hoof. He plays with all the grit and determination congruent with the city of Pittsburgh. So while his outlook is leaning a bit on “vibes,” the Steelers organization simply doesn’t seem to miss very often.”
As Miller wrote, Pickett has to improve, but that is no secret. No quarterback can peak in their rookie year and be good in the long run, but Miller is trusting that the Steelers can develop Pickett into being an upper-tier quarterback. As Miller said, Pickett has to improve in pocket as it is impossible to be a great quarterback when you live out of structure. Pickett must get more comfortable in the pocket and not bail at the first sign of pressure.
Miller’s other criticism seems a bit unwarranted. While Pickett doesn’t have the arm strength of Josh Allen or Patrick Mahomes, he doesn’t have a bad arm by any means. Some of the throws Pickett made in 2022 required good arm strength and he made them. Look at his completion to Steven Sims Jr. against the Baltimore Ravens. That throw isn’t being made by a quarterback with a weak arm.
Pickett needs to improve no doubt, but for the 2023 season being ranked as then 21st best quarterback seems fair. Pickett made strides down the stretch, but he wasn’t a consistent force throughout games, instead putting together two or three really good drives a game towards the end of the season. Once Pickett can play a more consistently good game and put up more points he will sky rocket up these lists.
The potential and “vibes” are there. It is now just on the Steelers’ coaching staff to help develop Pickett into a top ten quarterback.
