When you describe somebody as the face of the franchise, one of the things you’re talking about is the fact that he’s the guy everyone else is going to be asked about. Second-year quarterback Kenny Pickett very much is that guy. He still has much to prove on his own, but he’s at that point where he’s got everybody talking and champing at the bit.
Especially because of the run that the team made late last season, buoyed by some impressive fourth-quarter drives, which Pickett led, marching down the field for critical comeback victories. Even when the first 45-50 minutes of the game were ugly. You want to win prettier, and maybe they will, but tight end Pat Freiermuth knows one thing: “He’s clutch”.
“He never wavered in any type of situation in any game that we played”, he said recently on the Pardon My Take podcast with PFT Commenter and Big Cat. “He’s even-keeled throughout the whole game, and two-minute situations, you just want to win. He has that winning gene. Even in OTAs, he’s like, ‘It’s not just OTAs, we’re competing to win’. You love to play for him. He’s a good dude”.
There are certain cliches that you throw out about teammates, standard repertoire, run-of-the-mill comments that vary by position, whatever fits the occasion. When Pickett’s teammates talk about him this offseason, though, it doesn’t feel pre-packaged.
He is the leader of this group, not just because everybody keeps saying so, but because he is actually leading everybody, and he has their backing to be that leader. That comes not just through his words but also his actions, on and off the field.
But a lot of it comes when the bullets are flying, which is exactly what Freiermuth was talking about. You never saw Pickett lose his composure in a non-competitive way. He’ll get fired up about a certain thing—if a defender pushes him down, for example—but you’re never going to look at him and not see the confidence that they can do what they need to do.
That’s what Ben Roethlisberger had when everybody from Hines Ward to Pat Freiermuth himself looked at him. The tight end has gotten the chance to play with both now in his first two seasons. While he didn’t draw comparisons between the two, however, I think there is a natural one to make in terms of their unflappable composure in the huddle.
Because that’s how Roethlisberger’s teammates spoke of him. That’s how Pickett’s teammates are speaking of him today. And that’s a part of why the Steelers wanted him to be their quarterback. These are the kind of guys who don’t want to lose a game of garbage can basketball in the locker room. It’s the winning gene.
