Pittsburgh Steelers fans say that they don’t want to read about their former quarterback, Kenny Pickett—but they read anyway. Eagles Depot? Why are we talking about one of the most important people who defined the last two years in franchise history?
Well, I think the question answers itself; Pickett was an extremely important component of this franchise. That makes it compelling how his career develops in the short term since the Steelers traded him. They drafted Pickett in the first round in 2022 to be their future franchise quarterback. Now he is battling for the backup job across state, which is pretty significant.
Eagles 2023 sixth-round pick Tanner McKee began seeing elevated reps yesterday, with Kenny Pickett taking fewer second-team reps behind Jalen Hurts. Some Eagles beat writers wondered if McKee might not make for a better backup, and yes, we covered it. And you read it, complaining while doing so.
Now Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore weighed in on both Pickett and McKee. “Tanner is doing an awesome job. Kenny is doing an awesome job”, he said, via Grant Gordon of NFL.com. “Really two independent things. It’s not necessarily that they’re associated with each other. I think both of those guys are having really good camps”.
Gordon notes that there was some belief a year ago that McKee, then a rookie, could unseat Marcus Mariota as the Eagles’ backup quarterback. Though he failed to do so, the conversation makes the point for me, that it’s a reasonable consideration.
Pickett has 24 career starts in 25 games, while McKee has yet to make his NFL debut. Pickett went 20th overall in 2022, while McKee went 188th overall last year. The Stanford product threw for 5,336 yards with 28 touchdowns to 15 interceptions during his college career.
Moore stressed that just because McKee is seeing more second-team work doesn’t mean Pickett’s role is diminishing. “Sometimes when you are a younger guy, sometimes we like to put you in some different situations where you are with different guys on the field”, he said, which sounds very much like something Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin would say.
Moore also says that both Pickett and McKee have handled the work distribution in an “awesome” manner. “It’s been really good for these guys.
Pickett lost his starting job while injured late last season. After the Steelers signed Russell Wilson in free agency, he requested a trade, and they obliged. The Steelers received a late third-round pick and two seventh-round picks in exchange for a late fourth-round pick and Pickett.
We don’t know exactly how things played out behind the scenes, but some reported that the Steelers told Pickett Russell Wilson would start over him. Others claim that he didn’t want to compete with Wilson. Now, Kenny Pickett is competing with Tanner McKee for second-team reps in training camp.
