Over the last few months, much of the talk surrounding Pittsburgh Steelers’ third-year quarterback Kenny Pickett has centered on him not being good enough to be a starting quarterback in the NFL, better suited for a backup role, period.
That’s been the case with talking heads making the case for the Steelers to seek an upgrade, such as trading for Justin Fields, or signing the likes of a Kirk Cousins or Russell Wilson.
It’s very unlikely any of those things happen. What’s most likely is the re-signing of Mason Rudolph or adding a Ryan Tannehill in free agency to provide depth and experience to the quarterback room.
The Steelers — whether it’s right or wrong is up for debate — aren’t going to be cutting bait with Pickett as the starting quarterback just yet. Offseason comments from the likes of team president and owner Art Rooney II, head coach Mike Tomlin, and GM Omar Khan make that increasingly clear, though they are committed to providing “competition,” whatever that may mean.
Former NFL quarterback Robert Griffin III knows all too well about a team giving up on him too early, so he doesn’t want to see the Steelers do that with Pickett, in large part because Griffin still has great belief in Pickett’s skillset and talent level as an NFL quarterback.
Answering listener questions in a recent episode of his podcast “RG3 and The Ones” on YouTube, Griffin stated he doesn’t want to see Justin Fields traded to the Steelers, not because he doesn’t believe Fields would be a fit there, but because believes in Pickett still, and thinks he’ll be successful in new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith’s system.
“I just, I haven’t given up hope on Kenny Pickett and I know people will say, ‘oh my gosh, why are you doing this?’ Whatever, whatever. I just believe that Kenny Pickett, the guy who threw for more touchdown passes than Dan Marino at Pitt, is a much better player than people are giving him credit for,” Griffin said of Pickett, according to video via the show’s YouTube page. “And I think in a system that accentuates what he does best with movement and play action pass, he’ll be more successful.”
That’s certainly a fair stance from Griffin, who knows a thing or two about the quarterback position compared to most.
It’s fair not to give up hope on Pickett, especially after the strong rookie season he had, particularly in the second half of the 2022 season. But then, the 2023 season was largely a mess. Sure, some of that can be pointed to former offensive coordinator Matt Canada being retained for a third season, which was a disaster through and through. But Pickett certainly didn’t help himself with his accuracy and pocket presence.
Now, though, he’s going to get a chance with new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith. Pickett’s athleticism, mobility, and tendency to take care of the football is a good fit for Smith’s run-heavy scheme that utilizes a lot of play-action and bootlegs.
How well he transitions to Smith’s scheme will draw much attention this offseason through Organized Team Activities, minicamp, training camp, and the preseason.
While Griffin cites Pickett’s college stats breaking Dan Marino’s records, those don’t have much to do with the NFL, so that can be thrown out. There’s still a decent quarterback in there though, one that Smith needs to get to play to his strengths and improve his confidence. Griffin still believes in Pickett. Do you?
