The Pittsburgh Steelers were hoping they found their true successor to Ben Roethlisberger when they took quarterback Kenny Pickett with the 20th overall pick of the 2022 NFL Draft.
Unfortunately, Pickett has resembled anything but a legitimate Roethlisberger replacement in the early stages of his career.
After a disappointing rookie campaign in which Pickett made 13 appearances (12 starts) and threw for 2,404 yards, seven touchdowns and nine interceptions while completing 63 percent of his passes and posting a passer rating of 76.7, the youngster has not looked much better this season.
Through the Steelers’ first four games of 2023, Pickett has totaled 803 yards, four touchdowns and four picks while completing 60.6 percent of his throws and registering a passer rating of 76.3.
Most recently, the 25-year-old went 14-for-23 with 114 yards and an interception in a blowout loss to the Houston Texans. To make matters worse, Pickett suffered a knee injury late in the fourth quarter, putting his status for Pittsburgh’s Week 5 AFC North showdown with the Baltimore Ravens in question.
While Pickett still has time to turn things around, former NFL tight end and current ESPN analyst Shannon Sharpe is not willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.
Speaking on ESPN’s First Take this week, Sharpe said he thinks the Steelers need to look for another signal-caller to run the offense.
“Y’all need to be in the market for another quarterback because Kenny Pickett ain’t it,” Sharpe told fellow ESPN analyst and former Steelers safety Ryan Clark. “If you’re talking about a long-term solution, he’s not it.”
Pittsburgh is currently 2-2, so the chances of the Steelers ending up with the No. 1 overall pick and a chance to select USC’s Caleb Williams in this spring’s NFL Draft are very slim. Of course, the club can swing a trade and try to move up in the draft order, but that’s no easy task.
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