As the new face of the franchise, QB Kenny Pickett aspires to be known as one of the all-time Steelers’ greats by the time he hangs up his cleats and calls it a career. For now, however, he gets to write his own story and look back on the greats that he looked up to growing up as a kid.
That’s the direction that Kevin Adams took Pickett on as a guest on the Steel Here podcast, talking with show co-host Jersey Jerry to Pickett about his time at Pitt, his rookie season, and the preseason as Pittsburgh prepares to square off against the San Francisco 49ers next weekend.
Adams asked Pickett who his top five all-time Steelers players were, to which Pickett stayed fairly relevant, listing players that have all played within the last decade.
“Five all-time favorite Steelers…It’s gotta be Troy [Polamalu], Ben [Roethlisberger], Le’Veon [Bell], AB [Antonio Brown] and Heath [Miller],” Pickett said on the Steel Here Podcast, which aired on the show’s YouTube channel. “Those are all guys that I grew up watching. My buddy was a huge Steelers fan, and he always had the games on. So, if I was over at his house and the Steelers were on, we were watching it. So just from growing up, those five are the first five that come to my head.”
Some old school yinzers may not be happy with Pickett leaving some of the older all-time great like Joe Greene or Franco Harris off his list, but Pickett did admit that he was listing the first five guys that popped into his head that he personally watched growing up. All five names Pickett listed have strong cases for his list though as S Troy Polamalu, QB Ben Roethlisberger, RB Le’Veon Bell, WR Antonio Brown, and TE Heath Miller all were cornerstone pieces of the franchise during their respective tenures in the Steel City.
Jersey Jerry and Adams then spoke about the Brown situation as Brown forced his way out of Pittsburgh, tarnishing his reputation as a Steeler and leaving a stain on his legacy with the franchise. When asked about Brown specifically, Pickett was respectful, revering Brown and the dominance he displayed in the league for the better half of a decade.
“He is, in watching his tape, man….unbelievable,” Pickett said about Brown. “Unbelievable player. I mean, there’s arguments for him to say he’s one of the best ever. Just crazy, crazy talented, just a technician, explosive, an unbelievable player.”
Regardless of the antics that Brown pulled throughout his NFL career, he still should be considered one of the best wide receivers of his generation. He finished his nine-year tenure in Pittsburgh with 928 receptions for 12,291 yards and 83 touchdowns while also being an effective kick and punt returner. He was almost uncoverable one-on-one, and even would beat double teams on occasion as he got position to reel in passes from Roethlisberger. The fall from grace may not have been pleasant for Brown or the city of Pittsburgh, which had a receiver that could have finished his career as an all-time great, but like Pickett, we can appreciate the dominant player that he was with the Steelers for nearly a decade, much like all the names that Pickett listed.
Check out the entire interview with Pickett and the Steel Here team below.
