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The Pittsburgh Steelers were surprised to see Kenny Pickett on the board at #20 on Thursday evening during the 2022 NFL Draft, but not complaining. General Manager Kevin Colbert and Head Coach, Mike Tomlin kept Pickett in Pittsburgh by taking him with their first round selection. Pickett will enter a quarterback room with Mitch Trubisky and Mason Rudolph and should compete for the starting job right out of the gate.
Photo Credit John McGonigal / PPG
Did the Steelers reach with this pick? It’s possible. The quarterback class this year is not highly touted which is the main reason why Pickett was the only one selected in the first round. With any rookie at any position comes both positives and negatives, but in today’s quarterback-driven league, it is more imperative than ever to weigh the pros and cons of a potential franchise signal caller’s abilities and the decision to draft him.
Pickett throws the ball with very good velocity, can throw on the run and has the ability to get the ball down field. He has a solid throwing motion and has an NFL ready arm. The Steelers’ offense has lacked a big arm at the quarterback position since Ben Roethlisberger‘s surgery back in 2019 and they targeted to address that need with the selection of Pickett.
Matt Canada‘s offense needs a mobile quarterback and the Steelers front office went from having a lack of that to adding both Pickett and Trubisky to expand their offensive capabilities. He’s no Malik Willis, but he rushed for 20 touchdowns in college and will be able to extend plays with his legs rather than forcing bad passes.
Pickett played 52 games at the University of Pittsburgh and has a wealth of starting experience. He is an accurate quarterback and his decision making is more matured than any quarterback in his draft class. His college career consisted of 1,045 completions for 12,303 yards with 81 touchdown passes and 32 interceptions. He has the ability to be a starter from day one and this is clearly something the Steelers valued in this process.
Pickett is exactly what you want in terms of his size. He is over 6’3″ and 220 pounds. When you watch him play, he looks smaller than that, but he is big enough that his body type should not effect his level of success at the next level. His body is lean, however, and it wouldn’t be an awful idea for him to put on a little more muscle.
Photo Credit – PFF
While the ACC is no conference to laugh at, Pitt’s schedule the last few years was subpar at best. Pickett was 5-6 against ranked teams in his college career, but with the lack of SEC teams on the schedule each year, it is hard to predict exactly how effective and good he can be against top tier competition like what he will see in the NFL. He is coming off a year of only playing one ranked team in 2021. Albeit, a dominating win against Wake Forest, the NFL is a whole different world when it comes to talent and competition each and every week.
One of the reasons he has fumbled so much is because of how large the football seems in his hand. This topic seemed like a funny thing to harp on, but now that he is the newest Steelers quarterback, it needs to be addressed. The lack of hand size makes it tougher to pump fake, which is something Roethlisberger made a career out of, and fumbles are more prone to happen. There is nothing that can be done to change this, but it is something to monitor throughout his career. Taysom Hill had the smallest hand size of at quarterback last season at 8 3/4. Pickett was at 8 1/2 at the NFL Combine.
Pickett did not have the most overwhelming schedule in college at Pitt, yet he turned the ball over too much. In addition to his 32 interceptions, he had a concerning 38 career fumbles. The NFL is a different ball game when it comes to needing to protect the football and averaging almost a fumble a game is not going to cut it. This is my main concern as the Steelers offense is still a work in progress. Winning the turnover battle is one of the main keys to winning football games.
What are your thoughts on the pros and cons of the Steelers newest quarterback? Let us know in the comments below!
#SteelerNation
Support SteelerNation by clicking here to read the story..
Photo Credit John McGonigal / PPG
Did the Steelers reach with this pick? It’s possible. The quarterback class this year is not highly touted which is the main reason why Pickett was the only one selected in the first round. With any rookie at any position comes both positives and negatives, but in today’s quarterback-driven league, it is more imperative than ever to weigh the pros and cons of a potential franchise signal caller’s abilities and the decision to draft him.
Pros
Arm Strength
Pickett throws the ball with very good velocity, can throw on the run and has the ability to get the ball down field. He has a solid throwing motion and has an NFL ready arm. The Steelers’ offense has lacked a big arm at the quarterback position since Ben Roethlisberger‘s surgery back in 2019 and they targeted to address that need with the selection of Pickett.
Great Mobility
Matt Canada‘s offense needs a mobile quarterback and the Steelers front office went from having a lack of that to adding both Pickett and Trubisky to expand their offensive capabilities. He’s no Malik Willis, but he rushed for 20 touchdowns in college and will be able to extend plays with his legs rather than forcing bad passes.
Pickett is the Most NFL Ready out of the Bunch
Pickett played 52 games at the University of Pittsburgh and has a wealth of starting experience. He is an accurate quarterback and his decision making is more matured than any quarterback in his draft class. His college career consisted of 1,045 completions for 12,303 yards with 81 touchdown passes and 32 interceptions. He has the ability to be a starter from day one and this is clearly something the Steelers valued in this process.
Size
Pickett is exactly what you want in terms of his size. He is over 6’3″ and 220 pounds. When you watch him play, he looks smaller than that, but he is big enough that his body type should not effect his level of success at the next level. His body is lean, however, and it wouldn’t be an awful idea for him to put on a little more muscle.
Steelers Quarterback Kenny Pickett Gets Emotional After Selection
Photo Credit – PFF
Cons
Lack of Competition at Pitt
While the ACC is no conference to laugh at, Pitt’s schedule the last few years was subpar at best. Pickett was 5-6 against ranked teams in his college career, but with the lack of SEC teams on the schedule each year, it is hard to predict exactly how effective and good he can be against top tier competition like what he will see in the NFL. He is coming off a year of only playing one ranked team in 2021. Albeit, a dominating win against Wake Forest, the NFL is a whole different world when it comes to talent and competition each and every week.
Hand Size
One of the reasons he has fumbled so much is because of how large the football seems in his hand. This topic seemed like a funny thing to harp on, but now that he is the newest Steelers quarterback, it needs to be addressed. The lack of hand size makes it tougher to pump fake, which is something Roethlisberger made a career out of, and fumbles are more prone to happen. There is nothing that can be done to change this, but it is something to monitor throughout his career. Taysom Hill had the smallest hand size of at quarterback last season at 8 3/4. Pickett was at 8 1/2 at the NFL Combine.
Turnovers
Pickett did not have the most overwhelming schedule in college at Pitt, yet he turned the ball over too much. In addition to his 32 interceptions, he had a concerning 38 career fumbles. The NFL is a different ball game when it comes to needing to protect the football and averaging almost a fumble a game is not going to cut it. This is my main concern as the Steelers offense is still a work in progress. Winning the turnover battle is one of the main keys to winning football games.
What are your thoughts on the pros and cons of the Steelers newest quarterback? Let us know in the comments below!
#SteelerNation
Support SteelerNation by clicking here to read the story..