Kenny Pickett showed promise as a franchise quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers toward the end of the 2022 season. But Bleacher Report’s Brad Gagnon isn’t convinced.
Gagnon placed each NFL team in three different quarterback tiers. He listed the Steelers in the category titled, “prime candidates to pursue a new franchise quarterback next offseason.”
“Even with the pedigree of a first-round pick, Kenny Pickett can’t afford another poor season without expecting the Steelers to go back to the drawing board in 2024,” wrote Gagnon.
That’s a particularly hot take, especially when considering it’s debatable whether Pickett actually had a poor rookie season.
Kenny Pickett’s Rookie Season Improvement
Pickett didn’t light the league on fire, especially on the stat sheet. But it’s also not very fair to say he played poorly.
He certainly struggled early, throwing 7 interceptions in his first four games. But he improved steadily during the second half of the season.
Over the final nine games, Pickett threw 5 touchdowns versus only 2 interceptions. He attempted 129 passes over five contests without throwing a pick.
Most importantly, the Steelers started winning with Pickett. He led the team to five wins after Thanksgiving, including two where he tossed the game-winning touchdown on the final drive during the last minute against the Las Vegas Raiders and Baltimore Ravens.
Pickett went through his lumps even during that winning streak. In Week 18 against the Cleveland Browns, he only completed 45% of his passes.
But to call his play last season poor is probably being a little too hard on the rookie quarterback.
Pickett ‘Can’t Afford’ Poor 2023 Season
But putting aside that debate, it’s still worth questioning whether the Steelers would pull the plug on Pickett after just two years.
In all likelihood, it depends on how poorly the 2023 season goes for Pickett.
If the bottom completely falls out on the quarterback, and the Steelers are in a position to take one of the top quarterbacks in the 2024 draft class, then perhaps Pickett’s days in black and gold will be numbered.
But even if Pickett regresses, the Steelers earning a top 5 seems unlikely. Mike Tomlin has never recorded a losing seasons in 16 seasons, and general manager Omar Khan put together a very strong offseason.
If the Steelers finish around the .500 mark again, miss the postseason, and Pickett leaves something to be desired, the team could pursue free agent options.
But expected top 2024 free agent quarterbacks Kirk Cousins and Ryan Tannehill don’t make much sense for the Steelers because both will be 35 next year. The other projected 2024 free agent signal callers such as Jacoby Brissett, Tyrod Taylor, Marcus Mariota, Sam Darnold and Jameis Winston are better suited as backups.
The team might be better off just sticking with Pickett than rolling the dice on any of those castoffs.
Another factor could be the Steelers’ organizational patience. It’s been a long time since Pittsburgh has needed to develop a quarterback, but the organization hasn’t exactly been quick at moving on from questionable figures in important roles such as offensive coordinator Matt Canada.
In all likelihood, the Steelers would show that same patience with Pickett.
If anything, Canada could receive the blame if Pickett doesn’t play well in 2023.
Considering all those factors, it doesn’t seem likely that the Steelers will be in the market for a starting quarterback next offseason. But Gagnon would disagree.
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Steelers Predicted to Possibly Return to QB Drawing Board