Is Kenny Pickett really one of the worst starting quarterbacks in the entire NFL?
I don’t pay much attention to lists and things of that nature, but I admit one caught my eye yesterday. The 33rd Team ranked projected Steelers starting QB Kenny Pickett 31st in the NFL out of 32. Only the New England Patriots’ Bailey Zappe ranked lower than the only quarterback currently on Pittsburgh’s roster.
I also realize it’s kind of pointless to pose this question at this point. Partly because most vocal Steelers fans are not interested in entertaining the notion that Pickett is salvageable in some way at the moment. Many wish the Steelers could just cut him already, which is pointless because his contract is guaranteed. But let’s pretend just for a moment that a young player is capable of improving, crazy as that sounds.
We’ll begin by considering the other quarterbacks immediately ahead of him on the list. The Las Vegas Raiders’ Aiden O’Connell ranked 30th. The blurb reads that his “arm talent and accuracy are also middling” and not good enough to be a starter.
2022 NFL Draft classmate Sam Howell of the Washington Commanders ranks 29th. He posted a 4-13 record and threw for under 4,000 yards despite attempting a league-leading 612 passes. He also threw 21 interceptions to match his 21 touchdowns, and took 65 sacks.
Tennessee Titans QB Will Levis at 28 threw to DeAndre Hopkins that one time. Otherwise he hasn’t looked particularly impressive. Yet he still threw more touchdowns than Pickett on 255 attempts. He posted a 3-6 record as well.
The list ranks The Browns’ Deshaun Watson even lower than Atlanta Falcons QB Desmond Ridder. The Falcons benched Ridder multiple times last season and also threw as many picks as touchdowns. He had multiple awful red-zone turnovers and went 6-7 as starter.
Then there’s Bryce Young of the Carolina Panthers. What has he shown? Russell Wilson is behind even Daniel Jones at 23. Is Pickett truly worse than all of these quarterbacks? And more importantly, will outlets still rank Pickett similarly at this time next year? That’s assuming he’s still a projected starter in 2025, which is far from a guarantee. But is he truly the second-worst projected starter of 2024?
The Steelers’ 2023 season has been put out of its misery, ending as so many have before in recent years: a disappointing, blowout playoff loss. The only change-up lately is when they miss the playoffs altogether. But with the Buffalo Bills stamping them out in the Wildcard Round, they have another long offseason ahead.
The biggest question hanging over the team is the quarterback question. Is Kenny Pickett the guy? Will he get another season’s reprieve without a serious challenge? How will the team address the depth chart? Do they re-sign Mason Rudolph, one of few significant unrestricted free agents?
The Steelers are swirling with more questions this offseason than usual, frankly, though the major free agent list is less substantial than usual. It’s just a matter of…what happens next? Where do they go from here? How do they find the way forward?
