It wasn’t always a smooth, mistake-free rookie season for Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett, but based on the way he closed his rookie season in 2022, the future is rather bright for the former Pitt Panthers star and now seemingly face of the franchise in Pittsburgh.
Entering Year 2 with a full offseason as the unquestioned starting quarterback of the Steelers, Pickett is expected to take a significant Year 2 leap. GM Omar Khan helped him out offensively by putting more pieces around him, including trading for veteran wide receiver Allen Robinson II, drafting rookie tight end Darnell Washington and addressing depth issues on the offensive line by signing left guard Isaac Seumalo, backup guard Nate Herbig and trading up in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft to select Georgia left tackle Broderick Jones.
With those pieces added around him, especially in the trenches, the glaring holes offensively coming out of the 2022 season seem to be plugged. Now, it’s up to Pickett to take that next step forward in Matt Canada’s offense.
Appearing on the 3 And Out podcast with host John Middlekauf, veteran defensive lineman Cameron Heyward spoke glowingly of the Steelers’ young quarterback.
“Going into the second year of our quarterback, the sky’s the limit for him,” Heyward told Middlekauf, according to video via The Volume channel on YouTube. “I think Kenny has done a tremendous job to get us to this point. I know he is champing at the bit for more, and he is a hungry quarterback and to surround him with a lot more parts, whether it’s another wide receiver in Allen Robinson, more depth on the old line, I just think solidifying that group can do wonders for him. If he’s got time back there and he is able to process a little bit more, I think he is gonna have a lot of success going forward.”
Adding those pieces like Robinson in the passing game and then addressing the offensive line in a major way once again in the offseason with the additions of Seumalo, Herbig and Jones was huge for the Steelers, especially if they want to play that bully ball style that they are very clearly building towards.
Not only will those additions help the Steelers run the ball more and control the clock, shortening games, they will also keep Pickett out of less troublesome situations with pressure and quarterback hits, giving him time to really process and make plays down the field in the passing game. That should unlock another level to Pittsburgh’s offense overall.
Based on the way the Steelers closed on offense last season, particularly in the second half on a 7-2 run that saw them narrowly miss the playoffs, and then go out and add a number of pieces offensively, the argument can — and should — be made that this is the season for Pickett to really show who he is.
If the sky is the limit, he’ll really have to take a significant step forward in 2023 to show that. Good news is, he showed he has quite the ceiling due to his play down the stretch last season, especially late in December.
“I think you just look at December in January, anytime it wasn’t going his way, it never felt like he was out of sorts or it felt like the moment was too big for him,” Heyward said. “You can look into Baltimore game…I don’t think they had given up a score in the fourth quarter for like some amount of quarters, which was crazy. And he goes down and puts together a drive and you just see there it wasn’t just one person. He was feeding everybody. And then you look at the Christmas game versus the Raiders and that was a little bit of the same.
“And so every time we’ve needed a big drive at the end of a game, he was able to answer the call and answer the bell. So, you know, I just look forward to them not waiting until the fourth quarter. Let’s get off the bus doing that, and I think we’ll have a lot more success that way for sure.”
Typically, NFL quarterbacks make a big second-year leap if they are the real deal. Based on the way Pickett performed down the stretch in his rookie season, he certainly feels like the real deal.
Pickett certainly has the “it” factor for the position. He’s as calm, cool, collected and confident late in games on potential game-winning drives as he is on the first series or two of a game. The stakes don’t faze him. Neither do the bright lights nor the overall moment.
Though he’s just 13 games into his career and the numbers don’t look all that great, it certainly feels like the Steelers have the right guy for the job moving forward, based on his leadership, moxie and overall confidence, even in weighty, pressure-packed moments. Nothing ever feels too big for him, and he has an unwavering confidence that he can get the job done.
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.
