Getty Steelers QB Kenny Pickett and WR George Pickens celebrate a touchdown.
Everybody backtracks from time to time. It’s human nature. We have an initial opinion based on what we know at the time and that opinion can change when new information comes to light.
This time it was ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky and the subject was Pittsburgh Steelers dynamic duo Kenny Pickett and George Pickens. Their showing since entering the league has forced the previously critical to re-think things.
“I think I owe them a little bit of an apology after watching preseason week one and seeing the connection and seeing all that’s been going on in training camp and seeing some of the clips,” Orlovsky said on the August 15 episode of NFL Live.
“You go back and watch their connection last year… If I had to ask all of us who was in the NFL the best QBR-wise quarterback to pass-catching option single pass-catching option in the NFL last year. It wasn’t Jalen Hurts and A.J. Brown. It wasn’t Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce. It was Kenny Pickett and George Pickens.” Pickett’s QBR was 98/100 when Pickens was the target.
(Some context: QBR – or quarterback rating – is a statistical formula proprietary to ESPN. It ties a quarterback’s overall performance to winning involving the number of passing yards, touchdowns, pass completions, interceptions and other actions recorded by the player.)
The Kenny Pickett-George Pickens connection has @danorlovsky7 impressed 👀
He took some flak from his colleagues about the 30-target difference between them and the next-highest duo (Tua Tagovailoa and Jalen Waddle – 88) but didn’t budge from his assessment. “I understand it’s fewer targets but it speaks to how impressive they were when he threw him the football,” he said.
Orlovsky wonders whether Pickett and Pickens can be the next Kirk Cousins and Justin Jefferson or Josh Allen and Stefon Diggs if they continue to be dynamic. If they do, Pickett’s stock goes up and, as a result, the Steelers’.
“That’s my point then is then all of a sudden Kenny Pickett gets put into a conversation that we’re having going, ‘Oh, wow. Now they’re one of the best.’ And all these one-two duos that we have they’re all really good teams, too.”
It’s Not Just Kenny Pickett, George Pickens for Steelers
Ryan Clark interjected that it’s not just Kenny Pickett and George Pickens that look to be on the right path.
“Najee Harris, when you see him in camp, looks like a different man than he did last year. He realizes that those four-yard runs that used to be 10 can’t be 10 if you aren’t ready to make that happen. This team is different. Darnell Washington is an absolute freak at the position. I think that this offense has a chance to be really good.”
Since everyone’s talking about Matt Canada (or at least the critiques of his play calling in a preseason game), here’s a photo of Canada sharing a laugh with Najee Harris at Steelers training camp yesterday.
But the offense can’t ascend if the line in front of it isn’t leaps and bounds better than it was in 2022. Pickett was often running for his life and paid for it with two concussions. On paper, the Steelers addressed that glaring concern in the offseason by shoring up the guard position with veteran Isaac Seumalo. Broderick Jones was brought in via the NFL draft to supplant tackle Dan Moore Jr. (at some point this season).
These moves alone should make the line better which means better protection for Pickett and open lanes for Harris.
But one thing hasn’t changed. The offensive coordinator. Matt Canada shouldered most of the blame for their predictable, non-explosive offense. If he can take advantage of Pickett’s potential and trust him to make more throws downfield and maybe even surprise defenses with occasional creative playcalling, the Steelers will be better. If it’s more of what we saw last year, they’ll be right back where they started.