While Colin Cowherd may have caught a lot of flack from Pittsburgh Steelers fans earlier in the week with his comments dismissing the team as a Super Bowl winner already, he wasn’t done discussing Pittsburgh for the week.
On Thursday, Cowherd had NFL Films senior producer Greg Cosell on The Herd, and the topic of QB Kenny Pickett came up. Evidently, Cosell thinks highly of Pickett’s potential.
“Kenny Pickett is an efficient ball distributor,” Cosell said. “He executes an offense at a pretty high level. I thought in the preseason, his arm looked a tick stronger than it did a year ago. He moves well… I think he can be a very good NFL quarterback.”
There has certainly been a lot of discussion about Pickett’s arm strength. While he’s certainly not at the same level as quarterbacks like the Buffalo Bills’ Josh Allen or the Kansas City Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes, he also doesn’t have a noodle arm. Back in July, Pickett talked about the work he’s put in to further develop his arm strength, and evidently Cosell has taken note as well.
It’s also hard to argue with Cosell’s take on Pickett’s ability to execute the Steelers’ offense, especially in limited snaps in preseason. He’s been able to find multiple targets, not just locking onto one target, and thrown for two touchdowns, including one where he threw TE Pat Freiermuth open for a 25-yard touchdown against Buffalo last Saturday.
As for Pickett’s ability to move, he’s showcased it both in extending plays as well as simply carrying the ball forward. He averaged 4.3 yards per carry last year, registering 55 attempts for 237 yards and adding three touchdowns. While he may not be a true rushing threat from the quarterback position, he is someone defenses have to be aware of.
If Pickett continues to perform as he has through two preseason games, he will continue to ascend the quarterbacking hierarchy of the NFL.
As for Cowherd’s comments from earlier this week, he did chime in with some quick thoughts about the Steelers after Cosell broke down his thoughts on Pickett.
“I just love this roster so much,” Cowherd said. “If he’s good, not even very good, they probably are a playoff team if he’s good.”
You can watch more of Cosell’s and Cowherd’s thoughts below.
