It was understandable that there would be bumps in the road during the initial transition to the Kenny Pickett Era under center for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
That occurred early on in the 2022 season once Pickett took over at halftime of the Week 4 loss to the New York Jets. Pickett struggled leading up to the Week Nine bye as he got his feet wet and gained valuable experience. Down the stretch in the second half, Pickett played much better overall and showed flashes of being that franchise quarterback the Steelers hoped for when they selected him at No. 20 overall in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft.
Entering Year Two now though, that grace period of understanding and lowered expectations is over for Pickett, at least according to ESPN NFL analyst and former Steelers safety Ryan Clark.
Appearing on NFL Live Thursday, Clark stated that the grace period is gone for Pickett, and that now it’s time for him to truly show he’s the guy to lead the Steelers to the promised land.
“You have to think about last year where we basically knew going into training camp that Mitchell Trubisky would be the Week One starter, because it wasn’t necessarily a conversation of when Kenny Pickett would play, it was if. And as that seemed to be more likely and more probable, he takes the field, has a couple of injuries, and didn’t necessarily start out great, but you had that grace period. That grace period is gone,” Clark said, according to audio via NFL Live’s podcast on Spotify. “When this team finishes winning six of his last seven games, when you watch him have a comeback against the Las Vegas Raiders and the Baltimore Ravens, you expect to see more of that.
“So now coming into this season, knowing you’re the guy, you have to be ready to lead, you have to be prepared to show everyone on Day One that I’m the person to lead you to the promise land. And we also have to remember, it was an extremely long time in between Terry Bradshaw and Ben Roethlisberger. The Pittsburgh Steelers fans, the organization and Mike Tomlin isn’t prepared to wait that long. Those expectations are heaped onto Kenny Pickett and that first-round draft stock.”
Entering Year Two, the expectations are rather high for Pickett, considering the work that the Steelers did in the offseason under GM Omar Khan, adding pieces along the offensive line and bringing in veteran Allen Robinson II to shore up the wide receiver depth chart.
Those expectations are also high due to the flashes that Pickett showed down the stretch in the second half of the season, helping the Steelers go 7-2 in the second half to finish 9-8, narrowly missing the playoffs. But, when it comes to Pickett and the questions about him, they always seemingly come back to his stat line from his rookie season.
Pickett threw for just 2,404 yards and had seven touchdowns to nine interceptions as a rookie. He added another 237 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 55 carries. Those numbers, on the surface, aren’t all that impressive. But here are some numbers that are for Pickett: 7-5 as a starter, four game-winning drives and three fourth-quarter comebacks.
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. Time will certainly tell on that.
But that grace period for the young quarterback, especially in today’s fast-paced NFL where quarterbacks take significant leaps in Year Two, is over — at least for Ryan Clark.
