Steelers' Kenny Pickett expects 'big jump' in second season

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett has detailed his improvement during his rookie season and his expectations for his second pro campaign. 

"The biggest growth for me was mentally," Pickett told Teresa Varley of the Steelers' website. "Just understanding of the system. It comes with reps. You want that fast. You can study on paper, you can study in the film room, but sometimes you really just need to go through some things and see it with your own eyes and then watch yourself go through it on tape. I felt like my growth mentally, when I'm out there processing things faster, week by week I saw growth. That's always a real positive thing." 

The Steelers selected Pickett with overall choice No. 20 in the 2022 NFL Draft and kept him beneath free-agency acquisition Mitchell Trubisky on the depth chart throughout spring and summer workouts. Pickett was first called into action for the second half of the Week 4 home game against the New York Jets and ultimately made 12 starts and 13 total appearances. 

The 24-year-old went 7-5 as a starter even though he tossed seven touchdowns and nine interceptions, as only one of those picks occurred after Week 8. According to ESPN stats, Pickett ended the season tied for 19th among qualified players with a 51.5 adjusted QBR. He also rushed for 237 yards and three scores. 

"There are so many things I'm going to go through here in this offseason in order for me to take that big jump in year two, which I'm expecting myself to do," Pickett added during his comments. "There were so many new things coming in this year that you can't even put into this one interview that you're going through as a rookie quarterback in the NFL. I just got so much more comfortable from the first day I walked in here to the last day of the season. It's like night and day. I felt like I've been here for two or three years versus one season, how much time I've been around everybody. So having that groundwork, that base, the work in the offseason. I'm really excited."

Pickett noted during the conversation that he's already back at work during his first NFL offseason cemented atop a depth chart. The Steelers currently plan to hold onto Trubisky, but the 28-year-old is now merely a mentor and a backup behind the young signal-caller hoped to be Ben Roethlisberger's long-term successor.