Eagles' QB Kenny Pickett Comps Eagles And Steelers: 'Both Spots Do A Great Job Of Developing Players'

PHILADELPHIA - If things go to plan Sunday against Pittsburgh, Eagles backup quarterback Kenny Pickett won't be on the field against his former team.

That's the life of an NFL backup quarterback and it's juxtaposed by the idea that Pickett has to be ready at any time.

Whether Pickett plays or not in what shapes up to be a marquee matchup between his 11-2 Eagles hosting the 10-3 Steelers on Sunday, it's a game where Pickett is part of the storyline because of his history as a star at the University of Pittsburgh before the Steelers selected him as the 20th overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft.

Over two seasons with the Steelers, Pickett started 24 games, winning 14 of them before things started trending negatively after a high ankle sprain that required surgery in the 2023 season and Pittsburgh's offseason pursuit of veteran Russell Wilson.

A day after securing Wilson back in the spring Pittsburgh sent Pickett, along with a 2024 fourth-round pick, to the Eagles on March 16 for a 2024 third-round pick (which the Steelers turned into linebacker Payton Wilson) and two 2025 seventh-rounders.

As a team that values the backup QB position more than most the Eagles' perspective was tied to the opportunity of a high-level backup with significant starting experience at a cost-effective rate for two years. Add in that Pickett grew up an Eagles fan as a South Jersey native and it seemed to be a perfect fit.

To date, Pickett has only seen mop-up duty in three games and the idea that third-stringer Tanner McKee was pushing the Pickett for the backup job over the summer was off base, according to team sources. If Hurts does get injured for a game or two Philadelphia feels it would be in excellent shape with Pickett playing with an All-Star supporting cast.

Any disappointment with the Pitt product over the summer and the preseason was based on playing with second-teamers, many of whom aren't even in Philadelphia now entering Week 15.

"It's cool," Pickett aid of Sunday's game. "[It is an] opportunity to see a lot of old teammates and a lot of old friends. So I'm looking forward to that, but it'll be a great game, two really good teams playing playing high-level football in December. So there's not much more you can ask for now than that."

The Eagles and Steelers are two of the more well-regarded organizations in the NFL and Pickett has had the unique opportunity to see how both operate from the inside.

"I think great both spots do a great job of developing players, and doing everything they can to give us the best opportunity to succeed," Pickett said. "So you know, both are great spots. Like I said, Two great teams. It's going to be a really good game on Sunday."

The secret sauce in Pittsburgh is continuity with only three head coaches over the past 55 years. All of them -- Chuck Noll, Bill Cowher, and current head coach Mike Tomlin -- have won Super Bowls. Noll and Cowher are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame and will surely be joined at some point by Tomlin, the longest-tenured coach in the NFL who has never had a losing season over 18 years.

"His detail and preparation is really good on both sides of the ball and special teams," Pickett said of Tomlin. "Everybody has a really good understanding of how the game is supposed to go and what we're looking to do on both sides of the football. So you know his preparation, his detail in dissecting defenses and offenses and giving information to both sides of the ball is at a really high level."

As for his current job, Pickett has enyoyed learning from a new voice.

"It's really cool to learn from [offensive coordinator] Kellen [Moore]," said Pickett. "... I'm just trying to always improve on anything I can. Pocket [play], footwork, mechanics. You learn different things from new coaches. Being in a different spot, or hearing new coaching points with the system and how they run it. So you're always looking to improve in that area.

"So, yeah, just trying to continue to grow every day."

As a star in college and a first-round pick and an early starter in the pros, the biggest adjustment for Pickett has been the limited amount of reps he gets, meaning the idea of getting better mentally has taken the forefront over the physical process of repetition.

"It's always a tough thing to balance," Pickett admitted. "But I think if you just pour into the mental aspect of it and take as many mental reps as you can, even something simple, like routes on air, watching how these guys get in and out of breaks and looking at their indicators [can help]. Because you're not going to get the physical reps, you're going to try and find a way to try to make ends meet there. So just trying to watch everything I can and pick up as much information as possible."

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