Charlie Batch joined Ben Roethlisberger as a guest on the most recent episode of Roethlisberger’s Footbahlin podcast, and the two were very complimentary of the Steelers offense in 2023. While Roethlisberger again reiterated that he wanted to see more reps from Pittsburgh’s first-team offense in the preseason, he was impressed with what he did see out of Kenny Pickett and co.
“Without seeing that big body of work, I’ve been very impressed with what I’ve seen. It reminds me a lot of when we had some really talented guys on offense. Like, Kenny’s got some really talented guys. The receivers, like when we had Emmanuel [Sanders] and Mike Wallace and AB. Heath [Miller] was the tight end,” Roethlisberger said. We had some really good skills guys. It reminds me of what we had when we were really grooving. So I think Kenny’s got the receivers, the tight ends, the running back. So I think it’s going to come down to how Kenny plays, in my opinion,” he said.
Charlie Batch said the group reminds of Roethlisberger’s second season with a lot of young talent, and he’s compared Pickett to Roethlisberger in his second season before.
Despite Roethlisberger wanting to see more out of the offense, it’s pretty high praise from both of them. That wide receiver group of Emmanuel Sanders, Mike Wallace and Antonio Brown in 2010 was probably the best room Pittsburgh has had in recent memory losing in the Super Bowl to the Green Bay Packers. The group from Roethlisberger’s second season in ‘05 was good enough to help win the Super Bowl.
Obviously, the Steelers aren’t considered favorites for the Super Bowl, but that ‘05 group snuck in as the final wild card and ended up winning the whole thing. With the Steelers picked to be a wild-card team by a lot of analysts this season, anything could happen once the postseason starts.
The Steelers have a veteran receiver in Allen Robinson II to hold down the slot, while George Pickens and Diontae Johnson could combine to form one of the better-receiving duos in football if Pickens can break out as many are predicting in his second season. Pat Freiermuth is a top-ten tight end in the league, and he became more of a vertical threat last season with 11.6 average yards per reception last year, and he’s going to be a nice option up the seam or as a safety blanket for Pickett.
Robinson can hold down the fort as a slot receiver, and for my money he’s going to be a really important receiver for Pickett’s growth this year. But Roethlisberger is right that the Steelers success this season is really going to come down to how Pickett plays. There’s no glaring weaknesses on offense, especially with the offensive line shored up, so it’s going to be up to Pickett to take advantage of his weapons on offense and take a step forward to lead the unit in 2023.
It’s a big year for the second-year quarterback, as he’s playing in a division with no shortage of quarterback talent. He needs to prove that he can hang with the quarterbacks at the top of the division, and the Steelers will need to be able to compete with the likes of the Cincinnati Bengals and Baltimore Ravens if they want to make the playoffs in 2023.
Pickett looked awesome in the preseason, and now he has to carry that momentum into the regular season. That starts on Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers, and their defense is going to be a major test for Pickett and the Pittsburgh offense. If they look good, they should be able to carry that momentum forward and put together an impressive season. It’s a lot of pressure on Pickett’s shoulders, but I have a feeling he’s going to be up to the task.
Watch the full episode below:
