Now that the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 2023 season is getting underway after the team finished above .500 but failing to make the postseason last year, we turn our attention to the next chapter of Steelers football and everything that entails. One thing that it means is that some stock evaluations are going to start taking on more specific contexts as we get into the season, reflecting more immediate plusses and minus rather than trends over long periods. The nature of the evaluation, whether short-term or long-term, will be noted in the reasoning section below.
Player: QB Kenny Pickett
Stock Value: Down
Reasoning: The second-year quarterback flopped on his face in his 2023 debut after a very strong preseason. He looked as though he was primed for that second-year leap in August, but we are waiting to see something to that same effect in September in games that actually count for something. From accuracy to decision-making to poise, there were a lot of negatives in Pickett’s performance.
Was Kenny Pickett the worst player on the field on Sunday between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the San Francisco 49ers? Probably not, no. But he wasn’t anywhere near as good as the Steelers needed him to be to pull out a win.
And considering the fact that there are still a bunch more games to play, that had better change in a hurry, because the Pickett who quarterbacked the team last night is not one that is going to see much success in 2023.
While there were his positives—his touchdown throw to TE Pat Freiermuth was particularly nice and probably came closest to resembling the touch that his showed during his preseason snaps—it seems many were wholly unprepared to see him struggle the way he did.
The fact that he spent almost the entire game outside of an initial three-and-out drive trying to play catch-up did not help, but a franchise quarterback has got to maintain his poise and composure and just keep things moving. Take small bites out of the sandwich without trying to engulf the entire course.
He did not do that against the 49ers, and it resulted in two interceptions (which should have been at least three) and a string of poor decisions, scrambling out of the pocket too early, missing his ideal reads, missing open receivers.
Pickett simply was not the same quarterback as he was in the preseason in yesterday’s game. I’m not talking about the results. I’m talking about the precision of his throws, the scanning of the field, the composure in the pocket. These things were in short supply against San Francisco’s defense. He will have to restock and do so in a hurry.
