It seems Kenny Pickett is at a crossroads in his career. With yesterday’s firing of Matt Canada, the perfect distraction from his shaky performance this season is gone. It’s time to face the music.
Pickett had an okay, albeit unspectacular, statistical start to the season. That hasn’t been the case lately. Over his past three games, he’s averaging a meager 131 passing yards and has only thrown one touchdown.
While the Steelers have somehow managed to stay afloat in a weak AFC playoff race, and even go 2-1 over Pickett’s recent cold streak, rubber is going to soon meet the road. The offense needs to show some sign of improvement or this team has no chance.
Former NFL QB Donovan McNabb is among many skeptics of Pickett and this Steelers offense, and he stated what needs to change for this team, and Pickett, to take the next step.
“I don’t expect Kenny Pickett to elevate his game unless he force-feeds his top two wide receivers.” McNabb noted on his podcast, The 5 Spot. “With the Pittsburgh Steelers, they gotta get back to ‘time’ throws for Kenny Pickett. Run the football still and continue to run it more, but the throws need to be more ‘time’ throws. The slants, the quick outs, the out and ups, the comebacks, the dig routes. These are the things you need to talk to your quarterback about. If you see it, throw it. Don’t hesitate.”
Those aforementioned timing throws are really what Pickett needs to effectively use if he wants to be successful in the NFL. He doesn’t have the strongest arm, and he isn’t the most mobile, so he is almost forced to use the timing throws to keep the defense honest.
As I’ve looked at recently on this site, the Steelers have been terrible when using the one-step drop this year. And while every one-step drop isn’t a timing throw and every timing throw isn’t a one-step drop, there is some level of correlation there. That’s worrisome for this offense going forward. If defenses don’t respect that aspect of their offense, the Steelers will see negative trickle-down effects in their run and deep passing game.
The time is now for Pickett to prove everybody wrong. None of the Steelers’ next five opponents rank in the top 20 in scoring defense. There’s no more Matt Canada to hold him back and all of his weapons are healthy. There’s nowhere left to hide. And not only is this stretch vitally important for the Steelers’ playoff hopes, but it also serves as an audition for Pickett, who is looking to lock down the quarterback position in 2024.
