As part of Peter King’s Football Morning In America column, which comes out every Monday during football season, King includes a section of “10 things I think I think.” One of the things that King thinks is that Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett has separated himself from some other young quarterbacks, making a case for being a top-12 quarterback in the league.
“I think the young quarterback who made the most progress toward being a top-dozen QB in the league in the preseason is Kenny Pickett. The Steelers have to feel great about their team, and their quarterback, entering a season in a stacked AFC North,” King wrote.
The Steelers went undefeated in the preseason, largely thanks to Pickett and the first-team offense scoring five touchdowns on five drives. It was a promising start, and Pickett ignited talk of just how drastic his second-year leap might be, finishing with a perfect passer rating. For as good as he looked, it’s hard to put too much stock in the preseason, but it’s a fair assessment by King that Pickett could end up among the better quarterbacks in the league by the end of this year.
He’s mobile, and he’s improved his reads and going through his progressions. If George Pickens can take the jump in his second season that’s widely expected, he has the talent of a No. 1 receiver. Along with Diontae Johnson and Pat Freiermuth, Pickett will have no shortage of weapons, with Allen Robinson II also a nice addition in the slot.
With his mental and physical progression and the weapons he has around him, Pickett is going to be better in 2023 than he was last season. He finished the second half strong, and it wasn’t for him being a little too turnover-prone in the first half of last season, he’d probably be looked at as a quarterback right around the top-20 range, rather than somewhere around the No. 25 range. But a good season in 2023 can change all that, and there are a lot of reasons to believe that Pickett can really take off this season.
The playbook is going to have to open up more too, and Pickett’s talked a lot about taking ownership of the offense. His ownership is already paying dividends with two explosive play passing touchdowns and a lot more looks downfield in the preseason, something that needs to carry over to the regular season. If it does, then Pickett’s name will be floated right below the top-tier of quarterbacks in the NFL.
