As the 2023 season draws closer and closer, the hype surrounding second-year Pittsburgh Steelers offensive standouts Kenny Pickett and George Pickens is getting louder and louder.
Already expected to take significant Year 2 leaps forward in the NFL, Pickett and Pickens are seeing additional hype added to the mix. On Monday morning former NFL offensive lineman and current Good Morning Football analyst Shaun O’Hara highlighted the duo as his second-year breakout players on NFL Network.
“They’re going to go hand in hand…,” O’Hara said highlighting the duo, according to video via NFL.com. “When you look at George Pickens, I see a very physical, talented receiver who just has that ‘go out and get that ball’ mentality. The catch radius on this guy and his ability to adjust to the ball in the air — that’s a gift; that’s something you can’t always coach. I also turn on the film last year and I saw a rookie that was knocking corners on their keister; like literally running up to a corner to block him and next thing you know the corner is on his back.
“So this guy is a very physical guy, and I love what he brings to the Steelers offense. With him and Pickett, you’ve got a young rookie quarterback and sometimes as a young receiver the ball is not where it always should be…I don’t think he’s going to have to make those acrobatic catches because Pickett will be better, which in turn will make Pickens better.”
As a rookie, Pickens took the league by storm, making a number of ridiculous plays throughout the 2022 season for the Steelers, finishing with an impressive 52 receptions for 802 yards and four touchdowns. Now, more is expected of him. A full year under his belt in the NFL, great chemistry with Pickett and another year removed from his ACL injury should allow Pickens to reach another level to his game, which is a downright scary thought.
While Pickens struggles to create separation and had some mental lapses last season as a rookie, he remained rather impressive throughout the season due to his ability to contort his body to make highlight-reel catches and play through significant contact to win 50/50 balls. He needs to continue to develop as a route runner overall and create more plays after the catch, but there’s no denying just how great Pickens’ potential is.
Still, the work he did as a rookie has him set up for a other big second season in the NFL, especially if Pickett takes that step forward with him as well, making life a bit easier for Pickens in the process.
Pickett was rather impressive in the second half of the season, cutting way down on the turnovers and general mistakes a young quarterback makes. He put together some strong performances overall in leading the Steelers to a 6-2 record when he was on the field.
Pittsburgh rebounded from a disastrous 2-6 start to finish 9-8, with a handful of wins in the second half of the season coming due to Pickett leading fourth quarter comebacks (Saints and Colts wins) and game-winning drives (Raiders, Ravens). He showed he has that “it” factor in big moments. When the lights get bright and the moment gets tight, he simply didn’t shrink, instead rising to the occasion.
That was big for a young quarterback to go through and grow from. That has him set up for success moving forward and has raised the bar on expectations as well.
While he has a bit of a way to go before he proves that he is truly legit and a realistic franchise quarterback for the Steelers, the excitement and expectations around Pickett entering Year 2 are rather high, as they should be. The NFL has recently seen some second-year quarterbacks, like Trevor Lawrence and Jalen Hurts, make significant leaps. Though it might be a stretch to expect Pickett to make the leap into stardom that Hurts and Lawrence did last season, that’s the type of company and expectations he’s put himself into due to his performance down the stretch in 2022.
If Pickett can make that Year 2 leap many are expecting, especially considering how often the Year 2 leaps have occurred for other young quarterbacks in recent seasons, the Steelers will be in a great spot moving forward, seemingly having figured out the most important position in sports rather quickly.
