If the Pittsburgh Steelers don’t do their due diligence on all the available quarterbacks this offseason, is the organization truly doing what’s best for the team? It’s a valid question. The Steelers have a strong running game, quality receiving options, and playmakers on defense. They went 10-7 and made it to the playoffs with largely underwhelming quarterback play last season. Yet by all appearances, the Steelers seem to be content with only signing a veteran to compete with Kenny Pickett rather than finding a quality starter.
If you ask former Steelers S Ryan Clark, that’s not good enough. On Wednesday’s episode of Get Up on ESPN, Clark poured cold water on the idea of just bringing in competition for Pickett.
“If they do all that, it is gonna be on-brand for the Pittsburgh Steelers, and it’s gonna be dead wrong in this situation,” Clark said. “You’re going to strap your team to a quarterback that can’t lead you to the promised land. The reason that the Terrible Towel means something, the reason that the six Lombardis mean something is because that organization was built on excellence. Kenny Pickett is not going to be your leader to the promised land of excellence. And if he’s not, I do believe it is time to do something to make it different at that position.”
The Steelers aren’t in rebuilding mode. They have talent on the roster at almost every level. The problem is that the team is being held back by the offense, largely due to inept quarterback play. That’s why they brought in offensive coordinator Arthur Smith. The belief is that Smith is a massive upgrade over former offensive coordinator Matt Canada and can help Pickett. Smith and Pickett reportedly have already met and had good discussions about the upcoming year.
If Smith can get more out of Pickett as he did with Ryan Tannehill in 2019 and 2020 as the offensive coordinator of the Tennessee Titans, that’s great. That’s what the Steelers want to see happen. The problem is that Tannehill already had four seasons of 20-plus passing touchdowns with the Miami Dolphins before heading to Tennessee. His career-low touchdown percentage (touchdowns to passing attempts) before joining Smith was two-and-a-half percent his rookie year. He never went below four percent again until 2023.
Pickett hasn’t even hit two percent in either of his first two seasons so even getting to four percent would be a massive jump for him. Is it impossible? No. Improbable? Yes. While some of his statistics are certainly comparable to some other quarterbacks who have gone on to have successful careers, the touchdown percentage is by far the most concerning stat. Pickett would have to make a monumental leap forward to become even remotely average at throwing for touchdowns in the NFL.
And with scoring points the name of the game on offense, it’s easy to understand Clark’s thoughts on why Pickett can’t be the quarterback to return the Steelers to excellence.
