The Pittsburgh Steelers made QB Kenny Pickett a first-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. That is the first time the team has selected a quarterback that high since 2004 when QB Ben Roethlisberger was drafted, so expectations for him to be the franchise quarterback to usher in the next era of Steelers football were high. He showed some promise in the back half of his rookie season and carried that over into the preseason of 2023 before falling flat as the starter in the team’s first 12 games. Team president Art Rooney II recently sat down with Bob Pompeani on KDKA for a one-on-one interview that was posted on CBS Pittsburgh’s YouTube channel and discussed his young quarterback.
“Obviously we wanna see Kenny take the next step,” Rooney said. “The first two seasons, what we saw were not bad, I’m not gonna say that. I think he sure showed himself to be a winner. He showed somebody that can bring a team back from behind late in a game. So, a lot of positives from Kenny in the first two seasons, and we just need to see him take the next step.”
In a previously released preview of this full interview, Rooney said that taking the next step looks like scoring more points. The Steelers failed to top the 400-yard mark as an offense all the way up until Pickett’s final full game before his ankle injury in Week 12 and only topped the 30-point mark once in Pickett’s 24 career starts back in Week 11 of 2022 against the Cincinnati Bengals in a 37-30 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. That is an especially tough pill to swallow when compared to QB Mason Rudolph’s back-to-back 30-point games at the end of the 2023 season.
Pickett has one of the lowest TD percentages of a quarterback with at least 24 starts and has only thrown multiple touchdowns in a game one time in his career. For a deep dive into the start of Pickett’s career, check out our Jeremy Pike’s statistical breakdown here.
“I think he has been fairly consistent,” Rooney said. “When we’ve needed him to lead us in a comeback, that’s been one of the strengths. From time to time, we’ve gotten ourself in a hole and didn’t start out strong enough early in games. And so being more consistent from the first quarter to the fourth quarter, I think that’s what we need to build on.”
Pickett has certainly shown the ability to come from behind and secure wins. In his 24 career starts, he has six fourth-quarter comebacks and seven game-winning drives. He also has one of the lowest interception percentages of active quarterbacks in the league, though that is partially because the offense avoided the middle of the field, utilizing a lot of quick screens and throws with low-intended air yards.
From the sounds of it, Pickett will get a chance to flourish under new OC Arthur Smith next season, but it will be a huge year in determining if he can be the franchise quarterback for the Steelers moving forward.
