The raw counting stats might not be all that impressive, but for Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett, the moxie, leadership and overall intangibles he showed at the most important position in sports in the second half of the season in 2022 has the Steelers believing they have a future franchise quarterback on their hands.
For Sports Illustrated’s Matt Verderame and Gilberto Manzano though, the Steelers are taking a huge gamble on buying into Pickett’s rookie flashes that, at least to them, weren’t all that impressive.
In a piece for SI.com Friday highlighting the biggest gamble for all 32 teams entering the 2023 season, that belief placed in Pickett by the franchise is Pittsburgh’s biggest.
“Judging from Pickett’s body of work from his rookie season, it’s fair to wonder why the Steelers seemed content with making him QB1 in 2023 without any competition this summer. Pickett had a subpar stat line of 2,404 passing yards with seven touchdowns and nine interceptions, and he averaged a lackluster 6.18 yards per attempt in 12 starts last season,” Manzano and Verderame write. “But coach Mike Tomlin is all about wins and losses, and the Steelers won six of their final seven games in ’22 with Pickett as the starter. Pickett also displayed, at times, that he can be more than a game manager. According to Pro Football Focus, Pickett had the second-highest passing grade from Weeks 12 to 18, behind only Joe Burrow. Now Pickett will need to put together a consistent Year 2 (with an uptick in yards per attempt) to truly prove he can be a franchise quarterback in Pittsburgh.”
Once again, it comes back to the stat line for Sports Illustrated with Pickett. Granted, his stats as a rookie weren’t all that good. But that’s ignoring everything he showed throughout his time as the starter in 12 games: a real leadership, true moxie at the position and the overall display of that “it” factor that can’t be measured in any sort of traditional stat.
Pickett 7-5 record as a starter, four game-winning drives, and three fourth-quarter comebacks are far more important than his passing yards, touchdowns and interceptions as a rookie.
The passing game numbers being a concern in Pittsburgh are well-known, but that’s not a Pickett problem in and of itself. A lot of that falls on the scheme under third-year offensive coordinator Matt Canada and not having route concepts to stretch the field or create yards after the catch.
As far as competition for Pickett entering Year Two though, what were Manzaro and Verderame expecting? The Steelers weren’t going to go out and sign a guy like Derek Carr or even add a backup like Jacoby Brissett. They like what they have at the position with Mitch Trubisky as the backup, and they were wise to bring back Mason Rudolph at the third quaterback on a cheap deal.
There was no reason to add to the quarterback room in an effort to push Pickett. That’s just a silly notion. Pickett is the guy moving forward and will be given every available opportunity to sink or swim in the NFL.
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.
It’s very clear the Steelers have their QB1 for the foreseeable future. Will he be able to ascend into that “franchise QB” tier, one that gives them a chance to win no matter the opponent every time they step between the white lines? That remains to be seen.
