The Pittsburgh Steelers made Kenny Pickett the first quarterback taken in the 2022 NFL Draft. Based on what his coach says, it might not take long before he’s starting.
Steelers coach Mike Tomlin told NFL Network’s Rich Eisen on Saturday that Pickett will be given the opportunity to win the starting job in training camp. Tomlin agreed that Pickett is pro-ready, and cited the quarterback’s accuracy in particular.
Tomlin continued, via Pro Football Talk's Josh Alper:
"It was two things that really attracted us to him from a floor standpoint. We thought he had pro-level anticipation, we thought he had pro-level accuracy. Oftentimes, those are two variables that really require a lot of adjustment from a quarterbacking standpoint. We felt he came ready-made in those ways and hopefully that’s an asset to him in terms of being able to compete and being ready if performance dictates it."
The Steelers will have a very crowded quarterback room with three potential starters on the roster. Mason Rudolph has previously been the backup and knows the system the best, while Mitchell Trubisky was brought in via free agency to compete for the job. Prior to draft night, Trubisky had certainly looked like the early favorite to take over.
The new Steelers quarterback will have big shoes to fill as they replace the retired Ben Roethlisberger. That would be a big responsibility to give to a rookie, but Tomlin is at least open to it.
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