What the Steelers Are Getting With Kenny Pickett
The Pittsburgh Steelers stood pat at pick 20 in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft, resisting the temptation to trade up and grab their quarterback of the future. With the amount of attention that Kevin Colbert, Mike Tomlin and the rest of the organization showed this quarterback class, it seemed written it stone that a signal caller would be the pick in the first round.
A surprise for many, the Steelers passed on Malik Willis for the hometown here in Kenny Pickett.
What are the Steelers getting in their first round pick?
Pros
Possesses pro-typical NFL starter size at 6'3, 220 pounds coupled by the fact that he brings plus athleticism to the position. Pickett has more than enough mobility to extend plays and either find receivers working downfield or occasionally scramble for a first down. He loves to scramble to his right and his accuracy on the run is really impressive at times as some of his more highlight-worthy throws came on plays outside the pocket.
Pitt would even roll Pickett out or move him to his right by design, seemingly due to the fact that he's just more comfortable operating in this manner.
Pickett's mechanics are clean for a quarterback prospect. He has a pretty compact and consistent release. He's able to keep his lower body and upper body in sync and connected throughout throws. He has shown the ability to reset his feet when his first read isn't there and his feet overall are almost always pointed in the direction of his target.
Above the neck, Pickett routinely shows his ability to work quickly through his progressions in Pitt's spread system. There are flashes of really high level pre-snap identification where he's able to select where to go with the football quickly upon hitting the top of his drop.
Pickett's also a good decision maker overall who showed a willingness to push the ball down the field more in 2021 but it didn't lead to an uptick in turnover worthy throws. You rarely get the feeling that he's fooled by a defensive coverage, only throwing seven interceptions last season in 497 pass attempts.
He will take what the defense gives him on a regular basis.
Pickett's overall accuracy is solid to all three levels of the field and he delivers a very catchable football that helps keeps his receivers out of harms way. There are really impressive flashes of him being able to layer the football in the intermediate parts of the field. He seemed to be the class's most willing quarterback in terms of attacking the middle of the field particularly against zone coverages. His deep ball accuracy, usually on throws between 20-30 yards, seemed to take a step forward during his last season as a Panther.
Pickett also brings plenty of experience with him from the collegiate realm, having played in 52 games. He was a two-time captain for the Pittsburgh Panthers in both 2020 and 2021.
He seems to own the necessary mental makeup that you want when searching for a starting quarterback as he comes off as super competitive and willing to do whatever it takes to secure a victory. Tough as nails and eager to put his body on the line to get a first down late in the game.
He enjoyed some clutch moments as the Panthers signal-caller over the past five years, leading several game winning drives at Heinz Field.
Cons
Despite the mobility, Pickett's pocket presence is one of his biggest drawbacks at the moment. He constantly bails on clean pockets through the back door which turns into him scrambling to his right unnecessarily. While it improved during his final season, there are still far too many moments where he has happy feet at the top of his drop, preventing him from being in the right position to throw.
Pickett rarely prefers to step up and into the pocket and when he does, it's usually an indicator that he's looking for an open running lane.
Pickett's lack of overall arm talent is noticeable on film and will certainly reduce some of what the offense with him at the helm. While he is able to generate enough velocity on throws over the middle, there simply isn't much zip on the football outside the numbers which lead to significant struggles in that area of the field.
When asked to throw deep down the field past the 30-yard mark, the ball will die on him forcing receivers to have to come back and fight for the football through contact. These issues are usually compounded whenever there's pressure in his face and he's not able to drive the football as much with his lower body.
So What's Next?
Given that Pickett is one of the older prospects in the class that will turn 24 well before the season opener, it's reasonable to expect him to compete for the starting quarterback job. Whether he wins that or not remains to be seen but Pickett's not a player who is going to gain a ton of valuable experience for the future by residing on the bench.
While the NFL in recent years has seemed to be shifting more towards those "toolsy" quarterbacks with higher ceilings, the Steelers seemingly went the opposite direction. Instead, choosing to employ a safer approach and select the quarterback that they were the most familiar with, that also came equipped with a higher floor.
Pickett certainly has the upside to become an average starter if at his peak and should enjoy a long career in the National Football League. You have to wonder, however, will that be enough?
In an AFC North that features Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow and Deshaun Watson, will the Steelers be able to be explosive enough on offense with Pickett under center?
If correctly developed, Pickett should be able to keep Pittsburgh playoff relevant in the near future with the proper pieces around him. In the event that Pickett leads the Steelers back to the postseason, will he be able to go blow for blow with the likes of Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen? It will be fascinating to see how it all plays out but for now, we'll have to just wait and see.
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