There’s something to be said about having the proven veteran quarterback who has been there and done that. For almost two decades, the Pittsburgh Steelers were part of that club. Leaning on QB Ben Roethlisberger, he quickly established himself as the Steelers’ franchise quarterback, battling the likes of Peyton Manning and Tom Brady in the AFC for over a decade.
However, the Steelers underwent a changing of the guard last year, seeing Roethlisberger retire and drafting his hopeful replacement in Kenny Pickett. Pickett is in his second season attempting to establish himself as Pittsburgh’s franchise quarterback. When he takes the field on Sunday, he will be facing another young gun attempting to follow in the footsteps of a legend.
That would be Jordan Love, whom the Green Bay Packers drafted 26th overall in the 2020 NFL Draft. Unlike Pickett who was thrust into the lineup of Week Four of his rookie year, Love had to sit behind future Hall of Famer Aaron Rodgers from 2020-2022, logging just one start during that span. Green Bay attempted to be proactive in finding Rodgers’ future replacement, which only lit a fire under the veteran to put together some of the best seasons of his career, winning two-straight MVP awards after the Packers drafted Love.
While the circumstances of Pickett following Roethlisberger and Love following Rodgers are different, their respective journeys share plenty of similarities. Both Pickett and Love were drafted in the latter half of the first round, neither considered that fool-proof, top-end quarterback prospect coming out of college. Love flashed immense arm talent, but was erratic at times with his accuracy, decision making and ball placement. Pickett was considered the most pro-ready prospect in his draft class, but questions lingered about his upside in the league as well as his statistical outlier of a season in 2021.
From a measurables standpoint, both quarterbacks are also pretty similar as Love stands 6-4 and weighs 224 pounds while Pickett comes in at 6-3, 220 pounds. Pickett ran a 4.73 in the 40 while Love clocked in at 4.74. Pickett jumped 33.5″ in the vert and 10’1″ in the broad compared to Love posting 35.5″ in the vert and 9’10” in the broad. Their production on the field also is comparable. Pickett has completed 61.3% of his passes for 1,490 yards and six touchdowns to four interceptions while Love has completed 59.6% of his passes for 1,720 yards and 12 touchdowns to eight interceptions, doubling up Pickett in scores and turnovers. Love has the clear edge on Pickett as a runner this season, picking up 171 yards and two touchdowns on the ground compared to Pickett’s 21 rushing yards.
When looking at the narratives of both quarterbacks, the jury is still out regarding if either can become that future franchise quarterback they were drafted to be. They aren’t of the same caliber of a Joe Burrow or Trevor Lawrence coming out of college as that bona fide No. 1 overall pick who would turn around a franchise, but rather more of a project with notable kinks to their respective games that needed to be worked on but possessing the qualities to envision them as long-term starters in this league. Both Love and Pickett are playing for franchises that have been blessed with historic quarterback play with Roethlisberger and Terry Bradshaw winning six Super Bowls in Pittsburgh while Rodgers, Brett Favre, and Bart Starr won four Lombardi Trophies.
This history of success has put a lot of pressure on both Love and Pickett to succeed and become that successful heir to their respective franchises. The two will battle for the first time on Sunday as both continue to share a similar narrative, looking to prove themselves worthy to their respective fan bases.
