Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett is headed into his second year in the NFL and fans are anxiously waiting to see how he performs. While he had a bit of a bumpy start, he came on strong during the second half of the season.
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Steelers Kenny Pickett
Pickett played for the University of Pittsburgh, which gave him and the Steelers familiarity with each other. That made him seem to be a no-brainer as their first-round selection in the 2022 NFL Draft. The team took criticism for drafting Pickett who some analysts felt doesn't have what it takes to succeed in the league.
It certainly looked a little bleak last season for Pickett. He was brought in at halftime to take over for veteran Mitch Trubisky during the Week 4 game. He had a rocky start but then the bye week came around and the offense worked some magic.
While the Steelers fell short of making the playoffs, that turned the season around after the bye, going from a 2-6 start to a 7-2 finish. While there were improvements in all three phases of the game, Pickett definitely deserved part of the credit.
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Steelers Mitch Trubisky and Mason Rudolph
What Does A Great Year 2 Look Like For Kenny Pickett?
The tremendous growth shown by Pickett during the end of his first season has many wondering just how big of a jump he can take during his second season. Former Steelers linebacker Arthur Moats, who now hosts a podcast called The Arthur Moats Experience, weighs in on the discussion.
As a component of his podcast, Moats does a film breakdown called Master Moats Film Session. During a recent episode, he breaks down Pickett's film. Moats said he saw Pickett in OTAs, rolling out and hitting receiver Gunner Olszewski in stride, and that gave him confidence that he will continue to improve.
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Steelers wide receiver, Gunner Olszewski (#89) warms up prior to a 2022 preseason game.
"See him on the move, seeing him when he's outside that pocket, it just really confirms it for me. He is going to continue to thrive, especially in that area."
Moats goes on to show some of Pickett's film late in the season running a bootleg play. He points out how his mechanics are nearly perfect, with his shoulder pads facing downhill, he steps into the throw. According to Moats, that was one of the things that stood out about Pickett even during his time at Pitt - he has always had exceptional mechanics. It also aligns with how the Steelers run their offense, and their renewed commitment to the run game last season.
"Why do I like this? Because it holds true to our identity and I don't think our identity is going to shift. I feel like we're going to be a run-first unit, a physical unit."
The way that Pickett sets himself up allows him to look to see what his options are, this is an ongoing area of growth. He reads the field and during his rookie season, he would go for the play that he knew he could make the safe play. Moats said he sees changes in that decision making.
"When I went to OTA practice, watching him in similar scenarios, he was able to extend the play. Last year Kenny making this throw, it was great. But I can definitely see him taking some more chances and being a bit more aggressive and actually trying to dagger some people, take these type of shots because this is more of that kill shot."
The ability to throw those "daggers" according to Moats is part of what differentiates decent from elite quarterbacks in the league.
"Those guys that really challenge DBs and make coordinators stay up all night, are the guys that say 'Nah my arm is better than you.' That's the thing that I feel Kenny is capable of and I think he's going to be wanting to show a bit more of that.
As a defender that covered quarterbacks at a very high level, it is encouraging to hear Moats saying that he sees some of these emerging "elite" traits in Pickett. Like all of the fans, he is looking forward to seeing what Pickett will do in his second season.
"He is a great decision maker who is very fundamentally sound and has athleticism that can hurt you with his legs. But like I said, good enough that he could throw a hit to any of these guys on the move whenever he needs to pick up a first down. This is what he can continue to do at a high level and I think that he will continue to do at a high level."
Do you agree with Moats' assessment of Pickett? Do you think he has the basic skills needed to become an elite NFL quarterback? How much of a leap do you think he will make in year two? Have you seen some of the videos of him during OTAs? Do you see growth from last season? Let us know your opinions on Pickett and the Steelers, comment below.
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