It was expected that the Pittsburgh Steelers would take a quarterback in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft following the retirement of future Hall of Famer Ben Roethlisberger. The front office and head coach Mike Tomlin decided to go with the guy they were most familiar with, selecting Kenny Pickett out of the University of Pittsburgh with the 20th overall pick. He started as the second string behind free agent signee, Mitch Trubisky, but took over at halftime of the team’s Week 4 contest against the New York Jets and has held the #1 spot ever since, aside from missing one start due to a concussion.
His stat line for the entire season doesn’t jump out at anyone. He has thrown for 2,209 yards passing with six touchdowns and nine interceptions. The key to the team’s and Pickett’s turnaround seems to be the Week 9 bye. The entire group has played exceptionally better for Tomlin and after starting 2-6, the Steelers are now 8-8 and remarkably still have a scenario in which they can slip into the playoffs.
The rookie signal-caller led the offense to their second game-winning drive in as many weeks and the wins versus the Las Vegas Raiders and Baltimore Ravens showed legitimate potential that Pickett could turn into a superstar one day. NBC color analyst Cris Collinsworth was in awe when Pickett found running back, Najee Harris in the end zone for the final score of the game that ultimately got Pittsburgh the victory.
“This is sick. He is going to be under immediate pressure here. He sends his alternate receiver Najee Harris out, moves a little bit. [Jason Pierre-Paul] had him and then he had to anticipate and lead Najee Harris into that mess. He was covered really well on the play. A perfect throw.”
He didn’t mince words when dissecting what led to the touchdown. As the broadcast showed multiple angles and videos of the elusive play, Collinsworth compared Pickett to one of, if not, the best quarterback in all of football today:
“I’m just telling you if Patrick Mahomes made this play, we’d be putting it right to the Hall of Fame. That’s a Patrick Mahomes kind of magical moment in the clutch part of the football game that sets quarterbacks apart.”
Collinsworth isn’t wrong. Any time one of the highly touted quarterbacks in the league make mind-boggling and game-changing plays, we all see it on SportsCenter for weeks. After doing it back to back weeks, Pickett certainly deserves his praise as he has displayed poise and veteran traits the last two victories.
Pickett would tell Collinsworth that he doesn’t want to be compared to anybody, but rather, one day be the guy that analysts are comparing guys to. He has gotten started building his own reputation after becoming the first rookie in NFL history to have a game-winning touchdown pass in the final minutes of back to back games. He has continued to trend in the right direction and Pittsburgh may just have another franchise quarterback blooming.
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