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It’s safe to say very few second-year quarterbacks will be under a microscope as intensely as Kenny Pickett in 2023. He actually might be the only one, given he’s the sole signal-caller taken in the first two rounds in the 2022 NFL draft.
It’s a highly-valued pick and the player representing that selection has tremendous pressure to produce as soon as he’s called upon. That time came earlier than anticipated for Pickett, as Mike Tomlin firmly stated early on in the season that Pickett was to “sit and learn” from Mitch Trubisky, who would be the season-long starter.
Those plans quickly took a turn at halftime of the Steelers Week 4 matchup with the Jets. Trubisky went 7-of-13 for 84 yards and a pick for a quarterback rating of 41.8. During the half, Mike Tomlin plainly told Trubisky “8’s in at halftime” and the rest is history. With three interceptions, Pickett didn’t play much better but he did score two rushing touchdowns (the first to do so in his rookie debut in NFL history) and gave Pittsburgh a fighting chance. Instead, it was their third straight loss.
As the season waned, the Steelers and Pickett started to improve, but they fell just shy of the playoffs for the first time since 2019.
Patrick Peterson is confident that Pickett is the guy to right that ship for the Steelers, he just has to step up and show it. “I believe he is a guy that we can rely on, a guy who we can count on,” he said on the June 15 Jim Rome Show. “Now it’s going to all fall on him if he can go out there and show us what he’s capable of doing.”
Now all Pickett needs to do is respond in kind.
Steelers DB Patrick Peterson Feels Disrespected
Eight-time All-Pro and three-time Pro Bowl defensive back Patrick Peterson has had a phenomenal career — one that is widely viewed as Hall of Fame worthy. After a few un-Peterson-like seasons to end his decade-long Arizona Cardinals career, he headed north where he enjoyed a revival of sorts with the Minnesota Vikings. Five interceptions in 2022 tied him for second in the NFL.
He only need point to that bounce-back year to show he still has fuel in the tank. And the Steelers expect him to continue that success as he likely ends his career in Pittsburgh.
But Pro Football Focus doesn’t think much of the veteran defender to which he has two words: “C’mon man.”
The list, PFF Cornerback Rankings: Top 32 ahead of the 2023 NFL season, came up during a June 21 episode of All Things Covered with former Steelers cornerback Bryant McFadden and Peterson. This time of year they have a list for everything and to PFF it seems he’s lucky to have made the list.
“Peterson had a huge bounce-back season in 2022 for the Vikings,” PFF’s Sam Monson wrote. “He finished with a 77.8 PFF overall grade and five interceptions, the most he has recorded in a single season since 2012. At this point in his career, he is better in zone coverage than he is playing man to man, but he showed that he is still capable of very high-level play if he can be protected a little within the scheme.”
Mike Tomlin doesn’t think Peterson needs protection. In fact, he plans to use his versatility to the secondary’s advantage and move him all around.
“He’s versatile, not only in terms of his talents but his intellect,” Tomlin told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in March. “We’re not going to be bashful about moving him around. He’s excited about the prospects of that.”
“I think having an opportunity to see the ball. Early in my career, I was just, like I talked about, solely a man [coverage] guy,” Peterson said. “Being in the receiver’s face, disrupting the timing of the receiver and the quarterback at the line of scrimmage. Like I said, I can do it all. I haven’t been in the league for 13 years just because I was good at one thing. I was just really good at that and that’s all they wanted me to do. I can play whatever is asked of me.”
Nice try, though, PFF.
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