Steelers' Mitchell Trubisky predicted to start Week 1 over Kenny Pickett

At this point, it would probably be shocking to find an insider willing to predict that the Pittsburgh Steelers will ultimately start first-round draft selection Kenny Pickett at quarterback for Week 1 over free-agent signing Mitchell Trubisky and backup Mason Rudolph. 

This week, alone, The Athletic's Mark Kaboly and Mike Kaye of Pro Football Network added their names to the growing list of individuals who are projecting that Trubisky will end August atop the depth chart. They're also predicting that Rudolph will likely be the club's No. 2 option at that time. 

In Tuesday's edition of his "state of" series for every team, Adam Rank of the NFL's website explained why fans should prepare themselves to watch Trubisky under center through at least the early days of the upcoming campaign. 

"There have been just seven quarterbacks selected 20th overall or later who actually started Week 1 of their rookie season since 2015," Rank noted. "Now, some of them -- Dak Prescott, Derek Carr and Russell Wilson -- ended up being pretty good. But it's reasonable to expect Trubisky to get the job to begin the season, even if it seems like a matter of time before he's replaced by Pickett." 

Additionally, Rank wrote that the Week 4 game against the New York Jets and a Week 10 matchup versus the New Orleans Saints (coming off Pittsburgh's bye) are realistic options for when Pickett could make his pro debut if Trubisky fails to impress. Rudolph was a non-factor for Rank's piece.