Pittsburgh Steelers QB Kenny Pickett looked good in the preseason opener, going 6-of-7 for 70 yards and a touchdown on the team’s opening drive in their 27-17 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. While Pickett looked good, CBS Sports’ Jeff Kerr isn’t buying that Pickett will develop into a top-10 quarterback this year but believes top-15 is a possibility.
“The game has certainly slowed down for Pickett, who is processing information faster and trusting his receivers on intermediate and deep passes. But it’s not easy to make the top 10, and that will be a stretch for Pickett — unless the Steelers make a deep playoff run. A top-15 quarterback in Year 2? That’s certainly possible with the skill players Pickett has on offense,” Kerr writes.
I don’t know anyone who is proclaiming Pickett will be a top-10 quarterback, so I don’t really know where that idea is even coming from. But even a leap to the top-15 is a big jump over where a lot of analysts currently have Pickett, with him falling into the 20s on a lot of quarterback-ranking lists.
It doesn’t really matter where Pickett compares to other quarterbacks if he helps the Steelers win football games. However it happens, if Pickett is consistent and can keep Pittsburgh in playoff contention all season long, no one’s going to be debating whether he’s the 17th- or 14th-best quarterback in the NFL, because it simply won’t matter.
Pickett did look better in his first game action of 2023, putting into practice what Alex Kozora saw in camp with him doing a better job cycling through his progressions. His touchdown pass to George Pickens was placed as well as it could’ve been, allowing Pickens to generate yards after the catch for a score. If Pickett can consistently play at the level that he did on Friday, that’ll be a great sign for the Steelers.
I don’t like putting too much stock in one preseason game, especially the first one. But with everything that’s been coming out of Latrobe regarding Pickett and Pittsburgh’s offense, it’s hard not to be a little excited about what we can see out of the Steelers. It’s a team that has the pieces in place to compete with the best the AFC has to offer, and the organization is long overdue for a playoff win. This could be the season where they win one for the first time since 2016.
