Mike Tomlin: Kenny Pickett 'has a chance' to start

The Steelers selected quarterback Kenny Pickett with the 20th overall pick. Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

Steelers coach Mike Tomlin: Kenny Pickett 'certainly has a chance' to start Week 1

By Adam Stites | Last updated 4/30/22

The Pittsburgh Steelers believe they found their long-term replacement for Ben Roethlisberger on Thursday when the team selected Kenny Pickett with the 20th pick of the 2022 NFL Draft.

While Mitchell Trubisky and Mason Rudolph afford the team the luxury of patience with Pickett, Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said the team doesn't necessarily believe that its rookie quarterback needs to spend his first season watching a veteran from the sideline. When NFL Network's Rich Eisen suggested Pickett may have the readiness to start right away, Tomlin agreed.

Mike Tomlin joined @RichEisen and crew to discuss his new QB Kenny Pickett and more. @Steelers

: 2022 #NFLDraft on NFLN/ESPN/ABC pic.twitter.com/tu9cNSwO6R
— NFL (@NFL) April 30, 2022

"He certainly has a chance," Tomlin said Saturday. "I agree with that sentiment of his readiness from a professional perspective."

"There 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. Often times, 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 for him in terms of being able to compete and being ready if performance dictates it."

Pickett led the Pittsburgh Panthers to their first ACC title in 2021 and finished third in Heisman Trophy voting. He finished his final season at Pitt with 4,319 passing yards, 42 passing touchdowns, seven interceptions and five rushing touchdowns.

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