When the Pittsburgh Steelers drafted Kenny Pickett, they knew there would be some limitations with development, as he was 24 years old and didn't have much time to progress. However, ever since his NFL debut, he had a couple things that stood out from the rest of his traits, and Steeler Nation should be excited for those, like TJ Watt is. In fact, his elite traits are the exact opposite of a former teammate that struggled to recover from a few different moments, while Pickett has embraced those moments.
Kenny Pickett's pocket presence might be the best in the NFL. Sure, he's not the fastest quarterback, but he has a great understanding of when the pocket is collapsing around him, as well as where his escape route from the pocket is. A perfect example of this is his debut versus the New York Jets, where he had many of these moments.
Pickett most likely sees the opening in the B Gap, but running through it probably wouldn't work well, especially with James Daniels getting pushed in front of him, closing the gap. Right before Daniels falls, however, Pickett finds the escape route and runs for a first down on 3rd and 6.
While there are many examples of him finding a lane and running, he can also keep his eyes downfield as he's maneuvering the pocket. Late in a loss against the Cincinnati Bengals, Pickett was able to escape pressure and buy enough time to find a wide-open receiver and throw an accurate pass.
Pickett is able to squeeze through a pair of pass rushers to keep the play alive, then ends up behind a wall of linemen, both his own and the opponents', and is able to go from stepping up to rolling out, where he buys himself plenty of time to survey the field and find the open man deep downfield.
His elite pocket presence goes beyond just escaping. He also knows when the best option is to just take the hit and give the best throw he possibly can.
He sees BJ Hill wrapping around the line and finding the opening outside the tackle. As opposed to trying to shake him off or run away, he keeps his composure and finds George Pickens in stride for the first down. Some quarterbacks would just go down and accept the sack, and others would try to dance around the rusher. Pickett understands when he can escape and when he just needs to throw it and take the hit.
Quinnen Williams is one of the last guys anyone wants to get bodied by. Despite that, Pickett shows no fear and fires a dart to Pat Freiermuth to set up a 1st and goal at the 2-yard line. Not only was Pickett fearless on that play, he displayed another elite trait that would make Hines Ward proud.
Pickett showed his moxie and confidence right after the play, as he got up and started trash talking with Williams while smiling. As mentioned before, nobody in the right mind would want to get hit by Williams, but Pickett looked like he was having fun in the moment. When someone has that level of confidence and moxie, you know that he won't get rattled very easily.
What ex-Steeler was the opposite of this?
The Steelers would not have had to draft Pickett if Mason Rudolph had even half of the pocket presence and confidence/moxie that Pickett has. Ever since Earl Thomas gave Rudolph a concussion, his confidence was shot and he became a statue in the pocket. Along with the Myles Garrett situation and Rudolph's allegations of Ben Roethlisberger being a bad teammate, Rudolph's confidence was shattered, and he played scared.
Rudolph had the talent to be a high-end starting quarterback in the league, but the mental aspect of the game was just not there for him. If he had Pickett's elite traits as his own, the last few years of Steelers history would be entirely different, and who knows what would come out of it?
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