Things are going from bad to worse for the Pittsburgh Steelers at the quarterback position.
Entering the season, there was so much hype and promise entering the second season of the Kenny Pickett Era. This was going to be the year the quarterback took a step forward in his development, elevating his game to new heights and leading the Steelers into contender status.
So far though, 10 games into the season, Pickett has been a resounding dud.
Granted, so too has much-maligned offensive coordinator Matt Canada for the most part, but over the last three weeks Pickett has regressed — and regressed hard.
And now, calls to move on from Pickett this season as the starting quarterback — and for good — are starting to get louder and louder.
The Ringer’s Benjamin Solak planted his flag in that discussion Monday morning, writing that the Steelers must be in the quarterback market in 2024 and move on from Pickett after just two seasons, even if it’s hard to separate a player from the effects of a team’s play caller like Matt Canada.
“…But we can evaluate players on the quality of their individual play, even if they’re stuck in a tough environment. And the Kenny Pickett evaluation is dire,” Solak writes for The Ringer. “Pickett, more than any other individual on the Steelers offense—player or play caller—was the reason the team performed poorly against the Browns, the reason they lost.”
Against the Browns, Pickett was a disaster, and it was right from the start on the first play of the game. Pickett didn’t identify the nickel blitz from the Browns, not even looking to the left side of the field where there was a three-receiver formation. Cleveland’s Myles Garrett beat Steelers left tackle Dan Moore Jr. quickly off the snap, leading to a sack that probably should have been a safety.
It was a sign of the day ahead for Pickett.
He rarely threw the ball past the sticks, looked completely unsure of himself and really didn’t do a thing offensively.
Solak took the time to cut up all the throws from Pickett on Sunday that were past the sticks. Viewer discretion is advised.
The passing game is a mess, from a conceptual standpoint and from a quarterback standpoint. Pickett has regressed — hard.
Over his last three games he has one touchdown pass and has thrown for 160 yards, 126 yards and 106 yards. The Steelers are 2-1 in those games, but the passing offense is taking a dramatic step backwards. Pickett isn’t helping things.
“This level of performance is unplayable. Almost all of these balls are flat-out uncatchable, and not a single one of them is accurate. Multiple times, Pickett was not on the same page as Diontae Johnson, his WR1, on reads on vertical routes. You can’t beat man coverage in the NFL without this!” Solak writes regarding the clip above of Pickett’s throws past the sticks Sunday, according to The Ringer. “Now, he was hurried on a couple of these throws, but welcome to the league. Sometimes, the other guys have a good pass rush. You don’t have to play the Browns every week—but this was Pickett’s 22nd start.
“We have a large sample of data on Pickett now, and it isn’t good. …He isn’t … doing anything. He isn’t a creator. He isn’t a big-play hunter. He isn’t a surgeon. He’s barely even a game manager. There is no doubt that playing under Canada’s tutelage, and largely behind a below-average offensive line, has affected his development. But here we are now: This is how the Steelers developed him. The proof of the pudding is in the eating, and the eating is extremely rough.”
There’s a lot of data that shows Pickett isn’t good, both advanced and standard statistics. He’s made 22 starts at this point, and though he has a nice winning percentage, there is nothing to suggest that Pickett is the answer at quarterback long-term.
Yes, he’s had some late-game heroics that have led the Steelers to a win during his tenure, but he’s far too inconsistent. The positives are too far and few between, and as stated earlier he’s showing no signs of progressing.
That’s a major concern.
There’s the belief though — at least among some in the media and in the fan base — that a change at offensive coordinator will correct everything for Pickett and the Steelers’ offense moving forward. Solak doesn’t see that being the case, and quite honestly, neither does this writer.
“Why not can Canada and develop Pickett instead? You certainly can try that. It’s a nice idea: that an offensive coordinator switch would wipe Pickett clean of all his bad habits and concerning film. But Pickett is a 25-year-old passer with two years of NFL experience—all of it bad,” Solak writes regarding a potential change at offensive coordinator. “When this season is over, he’ll have two cheap years remaining on his deal before the (relatively) expensive fifth-year option kicks in. I wouldn’t want to walk that route if a more reliable veteran was available and my defense was ready to compete now.
“There’s no easy solution for the Steelers, and the path forward is all the more muddled by the expected offensive coordinator change. But I’ve seen enough from Pickett to know that I don’t trust him to captain a truly dangerous NFL offense anywhere in the near future—not in Pittsburgh with Canada, not in Pittsburgh without Canada, and not anywhere else, either.”
Think about that: Coming into the year Pickett was expected to make that second-year leap, assert himself into the conversation among the top young quarterbacks in the AFC, and push the Steelers back into contention, especially after some solid performances down the stretch as a rookie paired with a very strong preseason and training camp.
It’s all come crashing down though. Pickett looks like he’s at a crossroads in his career. The Steelers, for that matter, might be, too.
