Though the decade isn’t even to its halfway point, every NFL team has made a mistake. Some bigger than others. ESPN’s Bill Barnwell spelled out the biggest blunder each franchise has made since 2020. For the Pittsburgh Steelers, the choice is obvious. Selecting QB Kenny Pickett 20th overall in the 2022 NFL Draft.
“Any team that drafts a quarterback in Round 1 hopes it has found its guy for the next decade. It didn’t quite go that way in Pittsburgh, where Pickett made 24 starts over two seasons. The Steelers gave up on him after last season, trading him to the Eagles for a swap of third- and fourth-round picks and a pair of seventh-rounders. It’s the most notable in a series of disappointing first-round picks by the organization.”
The 2022 quarterback class will go down as one of the worst in recent memory. And most NFL teams had that feeling based on where the group was selected. Kenny Pickett was the only quarterback taken in the first two rounds, a rarity in a QB-starved world that’s quick to overdraft the position. Who knows where Pickett would’ve gone had the Steelers passed but Pittsburgh was determined to select a quarterback in an attempt to find Ben Roethlisberger’s immediate heir.
On paper, it made some sense. Pickett was local and known, literally practicing and playing at the same facility and stadium the Steelers do. He was coming off a breakout season, throwing for 42 touchdowns and 4,300 yards in his final season with the Pitt Panthers. But a lack of physical tools and overestimated accuracy were his downfall.
After sitting the first three weeks in 2022, Kenny Pickett replaced Mitch Trubisky midway through Week 4 against the New York Jets. He finished 7-5 as a rookie but his production was weak, throwing for more interceptions (nine) than touchdowns (seven). There were a couple of highlight moments and flashes of clutch ability, back-to-back comeback wins over the Las Vegas Raiders and Baltimore Ravens inspiring hope, but the success wouldn’t carry over into 2023.
Despite a red-hot preseason, he and the offense flunked the fall. Pickett’s numbers were meager, throwing just six touchdown passes in 12 games as Pittsburgh won in low-scoring fashion. A high-ankle sprain suffered later in the season opened the door for Mason Rudolph, who finished the season starting after Trubisky’s last chance to play went up in smoke.
Though Mike Tomlin believed his quarterback of the future was on the 2024 roster, the Steelers swapped out their room in the offseason. Pickett requested a trade after the team signed Russell Wilson and Pittsburgh quickly obliged. It sent him to the Philadelphia Eagles for a 2024 draft pick swap and a couple of future seventh-round selections. Pickett has served as the No. 2 behind Jalen Hurts, throwing three passes, while the Steelers have found better options in Justin Fields and Wilson.
I’ve always thought former GM Kevin Colbert was determined to leave the franchise with a quarterback. A parting gift before he retired one month after drafting Pickett. The good news is the mistake didn’t damage the Steelers long-term. They quickly admitted their error, adjusted, and found better options. Even Barnwell’s list reflects that as Pickett the 30th-biggest mistake and considered one of the least damaging on the list.
Around the league, the Chicago Bears’ biggest mistake was trading for Steelers WR Chase Claypool, a steal of a deal the Bears got hardly anything out of. Claypool is currently out of football. Barnell’s biggest mistake goes to the Cleveland Browns trading for and signing QB Deshaun Watson to a record fully guaranteed deal in what is one of the biggest fails in sports history.
