Teams rarely give up quickly on their first-round draft picks, and when they do, it almost always involves a regime change—which is why the Pittsburgh Steelers haven’t given up on QB Kenny Pickett yet going into his third season, and his first without former offensive coordinator Matt Canada.
Surprisingly, some players actually play better as they gain experience. Their third season in the league could be better than their first and second. The Steelers still believe Pickett’s third season could be his best, and they have their reasons for this extended evaluation.
“It’s different,” general manager Omar Khan told Richie Walsh for KDKA on CBS Pittsburgh when asked what the time period is to evaluate a franchise quarterback. “There’s a lot of factors to it, not only the player but the situation. Obviously, there’s been some issues with the offense the last couple years. We’re excited about where we are with Arthur Smith. But there’s several factors, and it’s hard to just pinpoint one thing”.
In other words, former offensive coordinator Matt Canada ran a hot garbage offense. Kenny Pickett suffered significantly because of that, and the system limited his growth potential. The Steelers believe Arthur Smith’s offense will provide them with a much truer opportunity to evaluate who Pickett can be.
“I feel confident in him and his abilities,” Khan reiterated about Pickett in answer to a follow-up question. “I’m encouraged by just understanding what Arthur Smith’s vision is for this offense and encouraged by what that could mean for Kenny and his growth.” Who did Matt Canada’s vision encourage?
Of course, the Steelers are only talking about Pickett because he is the only quarterback under contract. When they have more than one quarterback on the roster for 2024, they will begin talking about multiple quarterbacks. And Pickett is the quarterback Canada had at his disposal. Even after the Steelers fired Canada, Pickett only got six quarters without him.
Obviously, their ideal best-case scenario for this season is they find out Pickett is the franchise guy they thought he was. They want to be sure that he’s not that guy before they move on, and they believe they can’t know because of the hindrances Canada imposed on that evaluation. The Steelers need to see how Pickett looks in a professionally run offense before moving on. That’s why they fired Canada when they did and why they hired Smith.
They also hired a new quarterbacks coach while retaining Mike Sullivan as a senior assistant. They are surrounding him—and any other quarterback on the roster—with what they hope is a much better environment. Their group of new coaches aim to maximize Pickett’s chances of success.
It’s reasonable for people to be skeptical of the outcome, but really, the Steelers don’t have a ton of options right now. Barring a crippling trade-up in the draft, they don’t have a plausible scenario that lands them a franchise quarterback. Arguably, the best available arm is Kirk Cousins and he is coming off a serious injury. They’re talking to Russell Wilson, of course, but we don’t know their thinking there. Likely, they’re just taking advantage of the opportunity his contract situation provides and seeing where things lead.
So many Steelers fans are convinced that Pickett cannot grow despite the fact he’s only two years into his career. Realistically, he’s probably not going to develop into a championship-caliber quarterback. But with no championship-caliber quarterbacks in reach, Pittsburgh is taking the time to give him one last long look.
