The last first-round draft pick of Kevin Colbert’s tenure as the Pittsburgh Steelers general manager was QB Kenny Pickett. Pickett is entering his second season, and he’s looking to ascend and take the Pittsburgh Steelers to the postseason. How Pickett fares is going to determine Pittsburgh’s success over the next number of years, and Colbert broke down what he’s seen out of Pickett during his young career on Late Hits with Alex Marvez and Max Starks on SiriusXM NFL Radio.
“I think if you look at any great quarterback, most of them weren’t great right out of the gate. You look at Hall of Famers that probably didn’t start for a few years or didn’t have the type of success in that first or second year that they had throughout their career. So that growth and maturity is very natural. And Kenny went through that,” Colbert said. “Kenny grew. The thing that was encouraging is; Kenny got better as the year went on, and it wasn’t surprising that he picked up where he left off. It looks like he’s gonna start this season where he left off, which is very positive for him. And it could be very positive for the Steelers,” he added.
Obviously, Colbert felt comfortable enough to lead the Steelers into a new generation with him as their quarterback to build around, passing off the reins to his long-time underling in Omar Khan. Between the amount of scouting that Head Coach Mike Tomlin and Colbert do in the pre-draft process, they were obviously well-informed with what Pickett could bring to the team, and his rookie season was certainly promising.
Pickett helped the Steelers finish 9-8 last season, going 7-2 down the stretch and as Colbert said, improving as the season went on. That improvement carried over into training camp and the regular season, as Pickett looked as good as he has as a pro. Late Hits co-host and former Steelers offensive lineman Max Starks noted that comes thanks to improved chemistry with his receivers.
“I love the chemistry that Kenny Pickett and his receiving corps has,” Starks said, mentioning that Pickett was thrust into the starting job last season. “Kenny hadn’t really worked with Diontae Johnson, George Pickens and a lot of the other weapons that were there. Pat Freiermuth, Najee Harris. So he’s learning on the job. Fast forward, like Kevin Colbert said, he picked up where he left off. You could see there was chemistry.”
Getting more work in with his receivers is obviously going to build chemistry, and Pickett looks like he’s on another level. Things like George Pickens expanding his route tree helps, but Pickett showed off a nice connection with him and Diontae Johnson this preseason which gives a lot of hope for how this offense could click as the regular season gets underway.
The development of the offense is going to determine just how far the Steelers can go this season. Right now, they look like they should be a playoff team. However, if the offense can really take that jump, then there’s going to be hope that they can make a run in the postseason. Pittsburgh hasn’t won a playoff game since 2016, and this is the year that should change. The offense being able to hit another level and finish in the top 10 or top 12 in the league would be an important step to get there.
Pickett went through his struggles last season, as Colbert mentioned. Frankly, the whole offense did, but Pickett in particular suffered through a three-interception second half in his NFL debut, a loss against the New York Jets after coming in at halftime, and he also threw three interceptions in a loss against the Miami Dolphins. Both of those games would’ve gotten Pittsburgh into the playoffs had they won either. Pickett was able to cut down on turnovers in the second half of last season, and that’s something he’ll have to show again in 2023.
No one’s asking him to look like a Hall of Famer, and there will still be mistakes out of Pickett. He’s still young, but he should be better this season. After leading the Steelers offense to five touchdowns in the five preseason drives he played, there are major signs that he will be, maybe significantly so. It’s going to be really interesting to watch and see how Pickett performs in 2023.
