Buy Or Sell: QB Desmond Ridder’s lack of success under Arthur Smith should be concerning for the Steelers and Kenny Pickett.
Explanation: The Steelers are bringing in an offensive coordinator who, as a head coach, drafted and failed to develop a quarterback. They happen to have a quarterback from that same draft class, the only one drafted earlier that year. If Arthur Smith did not succeed with Desmond Ridder, what does that mean for his future with Pickett?
Buy:
Let’s start with a broader discussion. General consensus held that the 2022 quarterback class was one of the weakest in many years. The fact that Kenny Pickett was the first to be drafted at 20 tells you how NFL teams viewed the group. So maybe Arthur Smith is just working with a bad batch in Desmond Ridder and now Kenny Pickett with the Steelers.
While Ridder fell to the third round, teams did not draft any other quarterback after the Steelers drafted Pickett. We are dealing with the two best quarterbacks in the class as viewed by teams at that time. Sort of. For all we know, the Steelers were the only team to have a first-round grade on any of the quarterbacks.
From a “tools” perspective, Ridder largely has the same kit at Pickett. He is more aggressive and thus more error-prone but also more prolific. And they both have a bunch of game-winning drives if you care about that sort of thing. Steelers fans used to but don’t anymore, it seems.
Sell:
What we can say about the state of the Steelers in the last few years is that their offense did not get the most out of their players. Particularly the quarterback position. That’s why they fired Matt Canada in the middle of last season.
We can’t quite say that about Smith’s time with the Falcons because it’s less obvious who Ridder is. His fatal mistake tended to be turnovers, particularly in the red zone. That’s not uncommon for a young starter.
And he did have success getting the most out of Ryan Tannehill with the Tennessee Titans. I know that’s going to be talked about a lot, but that’s really the springboard of his career. He does deserve credit for that. And Pickett has some commonalities with Tannehill in contrast to Ridder.
With the Steelers’ 2023 season in the rearview mirror following a disappointing year that came up short in the playoffs once again, it’s time to start asking more questions. Questions about the team’s future in 2024 and beyond. Questions about The Standard.
The rookie class of a year ago was, on the whole, impressive, but they need to step up into staple starters in 2024. And they likely need a strong influx of talent in both free agency and in the 2024 NFL draft yet again. In addition to a revisitation of the coaching staff.
These sorts of uncertainties are what I will look to address in our Buy or Sell series. In each installment, I will introduce a topic statement and weigh some of the arguments for either buying it (meaning that you agree with it or expect it to be true) or selling it (meaning you disagree with it or expect it to be false).
