The Pittsburgh Steelers aren’t just the buzz of the local media. With two strong preseason outings, they’re beginning to gain national attention, too. The team dominated the airwaves on Monday’s national shows, recapping a busy Week Two of the preseason, with former NFL QB turned ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky heaping praise on QB Kenny Pickett.
Appearing on ESPN’s Get Up, Orlovsky noted the progress he’s seeing from Pickett.
“They’ve got really talented players around him and you’re watching a player that’s really intelligent, that’s got tons of experience and confidence at what he’s looking at and now there’s no hesitation of what he’s doing,” Orlovsky said. “The ball’s coming out very quickly and second week in a row, I sit there and go, ‘Kenny Pickett’s getting my attention.’”
Pickett has been sharp in his three drives with the starting offense, finding the end zone on each possession. Against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he hit WR George Pickens on a perfect YAC-ball over the middle for a 33-yard touchdown, longer than any touchdown the team had in the regular season last year.
Saturday against the Buffalo Bills, Pickett completed a few short passes before RB Jaylen Warren sprinted 62 yards into the end zone. Later, following a Calvin Austin III 54-yard punt return, Pickett hit TE Pat Freiermuth on a money throw down the left seam, throwing him open and highlighting his progress.
Through two games, Pickett is 9-of-11 for 113 yards and two touchdowns with a passer rating over 149. If he qualified with enough attempts, that’d be nearly 25 points higher than the QB rating of anyone else this summer.
“I think what we’re seeing with Kenny Pickett right now is all the experience he has from college and starting last year showing itself,” Orlovsky said. “I loved his pocket movement [against the Bills], keeping his eyes downfield.”
They’re traits Pickett began to improve on following the bye week last season but entering his second year, the jump is more evident. Throughout camp, we noted his ability to better work through his progressions and extend the play looking to throw, not just take off and run. Pittsburgh’s offensive line has also done well to give him time in the pocket, something that was harder to come by a year ago.
Pickett should see one more outing this summer in the Steelers’ preseason finale against the Atlanta Falcons with Mike Tomlin mentioning all starters and healthy players will play (though he said that about Week One and it wasn’t completely true). After that, the biggest test comes Sept. 10 against the San Francisco 49ers, one of the league’s top teams and arguably its toughest defense.
