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The Pittsburgh Steelers have quickly shifted their focus to the offseason, and the biggest pre-draft event of any offseason is just a few days away on Saturday, January 5.
The Reese’s Senior Bowl is where NCAA’s best and brightest athletes come together to audition for the pros. It’s their last opportunity to show off for NFL scouts in a live game-day environment.
One of those athletes is former Pitt quarterback Kenny Pickett. With the Steelers in the market for a quarterback, following the recent retirement of Ben Roethlisberger, head coach Mike Tomlin and general manager Kevin Colbert is watching closely. After all, Pickett could be the future of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
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Pickett spoke with the media before Senior Bowl practice which kicked off on February 1 in Mobile, Ala. “The possibility of being drafted [by the Steelers] would be really unbelievable,” said Pickett. “Pittsburgh’s really my second home, so that would be kind of a dream.”
The Connections
Pitt shares the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex and Heinz Field with the Steelers, so Pickett and the Steelers know each other well.
“We see how they operate every day at practice,” Pickett said. “We see how they go about their business, how they work, go through their walk-throughs, how professional they are. So as a young kid coming into Pitt, freshman, sophomores can see how things are supposed to be done at the highest level.”
Pickett spoke of the relationships he’s already built with Pittsburgh Steelers staff, including Tomlin, offensive coordinator Matt Canada and Ben Roethlisberger’s former quarterbacks coach (2004-2006) Mark Whipple.
“I’ve had a couple of interactions with [Mike Tomlin]. He’s a great guy,” Pickett shared. “I’m familiar with Coach Canada as well, he recruited me to Pitt, so I have a great relationship with him.”
Canada had moved onto LSU before Pickett’s freshman season but served as the Panthers’ offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 2016. Whipple spent two seasons with Pickett as Pitts’ offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach from 2019 to 2021.
“Ben’s a Hall of Famer, had an unbelievable career,” Pickett said. “He was coached by Coach [Mark] Whipple [and it’s] pretty cool to be coached by Coach Whip, who had Ben, and then I got to learn from him. So, a lot of the things he taught Ben he was teaching me in these past three seasons at Pitt,” said Pickett.
It’s almost as if Pickett-to-Steelers is meant to be. But Pickett is currently projected as the first quarterback to go off the board in the 2022 NFL draft. Barring a blockbuster trade, which Pittsburgh doesn’t have the capital to pull off, they’ll be picking at No. 20.
Will Pickett still be there when the Steelers pick comes around?
Decisions, Decisions, Decisions
For the first time in nearly two decades, the Pittsburgh Steelers have a franchise-altering decision to make: What to do at quarterback.
With a handful of options on the table — free agency, the NFL draft, existing players — Bookies.com analyzed the odds of who might be the one to fill Ben Roethlisberger’s shoes.
The betting analysis team projects odds that the Steelers drafting a quarterback are on par with going with in-house veteran Mason Rudolph. Rudolph, Pickett, Ole Miss’ Matt Corral and UNC’s Sam Howell all currently sit at +700 odds.
Pittsburgh’s less likely options are Saints pending free agent quarterback Jameis Winston (+800) and 49ers’ Jimmy Garoppolo at +900. Garoppolo has one year remaining on his contract, but pundits predict they’ll trade him in favor of 2021 rookie Trey Lance.
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