Kenny Pickett Takes Us Through First Two-Minute Drill With Steelers
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PITTSBURGH -- Everyone was still in shorts and helmets, the crowd noise was fake and he was running with the second team. Still, Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett, who's executed his fair share of game-winning drives at the collegiate level, has had to bide his time while waiting for a shot at real reps during the first few weeks of Steelers practices.
On Tuesday, the first day of mini camp, Pickett got his first shot at running a two-minute drill. He took the offense the length of the field but, after Connor Heyward dived to haul in a difficult, one-handed catch at the goal line, Pickett and the offense couldn't punch in
“He was open," Pickett said. "He had a guy beat and I put it up on him. He made a hell of a play so that’s why I keep looking for him down the field.”
It wasn't real game action, but the pressure was definitely dialed up. Both the offensive and the defensive units embraced the opportunity to compete against one another. There was trash talking, haggling and with the referees. Meanwhile, Pickett had to command the offense using calls that offensive coordinator Matt Canada relayed through a headset amid artificial crowd noise.
It was the closest thing to real game action that Pickett's felt since the Senior Bowl in February, so some re-familiarization was necessary, but Pickett said he felt comfortable nevertheless. Part of that comfort came with time and Pickett said each day, practice and rep at the NFL level have helped him find his bearings.
"I think you could see as the two-minute [drill] went on, we got into a pretty good rhythm completing passes down the field," Pickett said. "I was in sync with the linemen with the cadences that we want to use. Getting the guys lined up and communicating through the headset, that was kind of my first time doing that since the Senior Bowl so I had to get back used to that."
While time on the field is a simple explanation for why Pickett gradually looked more confident commanding the drive, he credited his experience and coaching in college as key factors as well.
“I had a lot of experience in college so it’s familiar," Pickett said. "[Pitt offensive coordinator Mark] Whipple did an incredible job getting me prepared for two-minute situations and situational football so I can really shout him out and thank him for that."
Pickett added multiple times that failing to score with multiple close-range opportunities was disappointing and only made him more eager for the next chance to correct that mistake.
"I just wanted to go out there and execute, move the ball down the field and put points on the board," Pickett said. "We did everything except finish so I really want to go back out there and do that.”
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