There’s no question that Pittsburgh Steelers General Manager Omar Khan attacked the offseason with the intent to get the Steelers back into contention as soon as possible. However, we all know that just because moves are made doesn’t mean they all work out.
Recently, the Good Morning Football crew sat down to break the AFC down into four tiers: The Big Dogs, Hovering, To Be Determined, and Shock The World. Perhaps it should not be any surprise that Pittsburgh ended up in the To Be Determined ranking. As host Kyle Brandt noted, the ‘To Be Determined’ category simply means “we don’t really know.”
Then earlier Monday, another group of hosts on GMFB decided to revisit the original AFC Tier rankings to see if they wanted to make any adjustments. When they got to the Steelers, host Sara Walsh broke down her thoughts on Pittsburgh’s upcoming season.
“You would believe that Mike Tomlin is Mike Tomlin,” Walsh said. “So he’s going to restore these guys, and Kenny Pickett is only going to get better.”
If we’re being completely honest with ourselves, TBD seems to be a fair spot for the Steelers. We can all look at the moves and say that Khan added some quality talent to the roster this offseason. Yet an upgrade on paper doesn’t guarantee immediate success on the field. The additions at cornerback and offensive line especially need to come in and contribute throughout the year to help the team take the next step.
However, what Walsh said is arguably the biggest deal besides health when it comes to Pittsburgh’s 2023 season. Can Tomlin capture the progress from the second half of the 2022 season and drive the team forward? Perhaps even bigger is will Pickett going to get better and how much better will he get?
Thankfully for Pickett and the offense, it’s his first offseason where his focus is completely on starting Week One. Going through OTAs, mandatory minicamp, and training camp as the unquestioned starter (at least for the team and most sane fans,) will help his improvement. The upgrades on the offensive side of the ball, especially on the line, should also help.
Yet it’s Pickett’s ceiling that will largely determine how far the Steelers will go. If you look at the tier list, the majority of teams in the higher tiers have one thing in common: they have the quarterback position squared away. The Kansas City Chiefs have Patrick Mahomes, the Cincinnati Bengals have Joe Burrow, the Buffalo Bills have Josh Allen, and the Baltimore Ravens have Lamar Jackson.
The Miami Dolphins are getting hyped up, but Tua Tagovailoa has yet to play a full season in the NFL and appears to have suffered multiple concussions. There were even questions about whether he would be able to play again last season. The Jacksonville Jaguars have Trevor Lawrence who is only entering his third season, but he made a big jump from his rookie season, more than doubling his touchdown total and cutting his interception total down to under half his rookie season.
In essence, if the Steelers want both respect and to be contending for more than a Wild Card spot, Pickett will need to make a big jump at the quarterback position. Until he does so, Pittsburgh’s future prospects are ‘To Be Determined.”
