Not only are the Pittsburgh Steelers one of the most-hyped teams in the NFL entering the 2023 season, they have the “best story” entering a key season for the franchise, at least according to Good Morning Football’s Jason McCourty.
In a roundtable segment Monday morning regarding all things AFC North, McCourty highlighted the Steelers as the team in the division that has the “best story” thanks to the emergence of second-year quarterback Kenny Pickett so quickly after the transition from Hall of Famer Ben Roethlisberger, and how his emergence has the Steelers seemingly on the cusp of contention right away.
“Ben Roethlisberger was the quarterback for so many years. We watched him win Super Bowls, and then they draft his kid Kenny Pickett, the guy that played at the University of Pittsburgh there in the facility. And the 20th pick, it’s just like ‘Okay, let’s see what this Pickett guy is.’ They start the season with Mitchell Trubisky at quarterback, and then next thing you know Kenny Pickett gets in there with the two gloves on and starts making fourth-quarter comebacks, and then it becomes ‘maybe they found a guy,'” McCourty said regarding the Pickett and the Steelers in the segment on NFL Network. “Then you get into the preseason, the Steelers play their starters and Kenny Pickett scores a touchdown on every single drive that he is out there.
“I think this storyline for these young guys, George Pickens and Diontae Johnson, with Kenny Pickett leading the charge; you talk about them on defense, T.J. Watt, Cameron Heyward, the guys that have been there a very long time. When you have a young stud at quarterback, and everybody’s waiting to see what he can do, I think that makes for a great storyline.”
Based on the way the Steelers closed the 2022 season with Pickett, going 7-2 down the stretch to bounce back from a 2-6 record entering the Week Nine bye week, to finishing 9-8, things were looking up for 2023.
Then, you couple that with the way Pickett looked in the second half of the season, leading four fourth-quarter comebacks and three game-winning drives, excitement for his second season with a continued relationship with offensive coordinator Matt Canada and a strengthened rapport with Diontae Johnson and George Pickens could really boost the Steelers overall.
GM Omar Khan and assistant GM Andy Weidl added to that anticipation and excitement with the Steelers, adding a number of experienced, key pieces to the roster in free agency and then nailing the 2023 NFL Draft, building a very good roster top to bottom. That all then led into a great preseason from the starters offensively, scoring those five touchdowns on five drives, playing just 28 snaps, gaining 315 yards and recording a handful of explosive plays in the process.
With the start of the 2023 season just six days away, things are looking up for the Steelers overall, thanks to Pickett and his group of young offensive weapons that have relatively high ceilings overall. Add a defense with a number of great, Hall of Fame-caliber talent, and Pittsburgh looks very, very good overall.
We’ll see if it translates into regular-season success, but the storyline surrounding the Steelers right now is a very fun, refreshing one. There’s a ton of like, a lot to love, and so much to be excited about. It’s been awhile since things have felt this way with the Steelers.
