The Pittsburgh Steelers have the utmost confidence in Kenny Pickett to lead a powerful offense, and many analysts and podcast hosts share this mindset. On a recent episode of The Joe and Cook Show, podcaster Joe Starkey had Pickett finishing with a better statistical season than other AFC quarterbacks such as Josh Allen, Joe Burrow, and Aaron Rodgers.
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Bengals quarterback, Joe Burrow (#9) makes a throw during a regular season contest in Cincinnati, OH. | Photo Credit: Sam Greene / The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK
Allen has widely been accepted as the second-best quarterback in the NFL, behind reigning Super Bowl champion Patrick Mahomes. He has impressed almost everyone in his regular season performance, but Starkey believes Allen is on track for a down year, and Pickett will overtake him.
"[Will] Kenny Pickett have a better season than Josh Allen? Yes. I'm down on the Bills and Allen. At the end of the year, Pickett's numbers will be better than his."
Pickett has huge expectations this year after an impressive finish to his rookie campaign in 2022. Pair that with going 5/5 on preseason drives and consistently hitting deep throws to George Pickens and Diontae Johnson, and you arrive at the conclusion that Pickett is a breakout candidate in the 2023 season. Pickett has an entire offense structured to fit him and his strengths, with multiple receivers considered to be leaders in the AFC North and the NFL. Pickett also has a strong run game to lean on with the tandem of Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren pushing to be viewed as a top running back duo.
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The Steelers offense celebrates a touchdown against the Buffalo Bills in Pittsburgh, PA.
The AFC is stacked with great quarterbacks, and the AFC North is one of the most competitive quarterback divisions. Burrow leads the pack with multiple deep playoff runs and considerations in MVP and Offensive Player of the Year voting. Lamar Jackson looms large in the division as a unanimous MVP and dangerous dual-threat quarterback. The rest of the AFC has deep quarterback talent, with Allen, Rodgers, Tua Tagovailoa, Justin Herbert, and the best quarterback in the NFL, Mahomes.
Starkey has Pickett ranking near the top of the list. In fact, Pickett is the fifth-best quarterback in the AFC, with multiple top-tier names above him in Starkey's final rankings.
"The quarterbacks that I think that will have a better season in the AFC include Lamar [Jackson], Trevor Lawrence, Patrick Mahomes, and Justin Herbert."
Pickett has had more and more pressure put on him as he excelled in the preseason, even tearing apart the first-team Buffalo Bills defense. But all NFL fans and players know preseason excellence doesn't always translate to the regular season. Multiple players have trouble translating practice, preseason, and regular season play. It's difficult to track and predict some players at different times of the year, and both Pickett and the Steelers are aware of this trend. Nonetheless, they have their eyes set high and are ready to compete in 2023.
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Steelers' Kenny Pickett fires downfield against the New Orleans Saints during a 2022 regular season game.
Pickett had a quietly good 2022 season, finishing with 2,404 yards, seven touchdowns, and nine interceptions. More turnovers than touchdowns is a glaring issue in Pickett's stats, but his preseason play shows he's taken control of that issue. He also stated he watched all of the 144 incompletions he threw and took notes on the mistakes he made in every throw to further improve his game. Pickett has taken all the steps to become an elite quarterback.
Steelers' Place in the AFC North
With Pickett's expectations this year, Pittsburgh will look to be competitive in the AFC North and capture their first playoff win since 2017. The Steelers have been in tight contention with the Cincinnati Bengals and Baltimore Ravens for multiple years now, with the Bengals leading the division for the past two years. Pittsburgh has fallen off a bit of a cliff since the departure of Ben Roethlisberger and multiple All-Pro offensive linemen. With a rebuilt offensive line and Pickett shaping up to be a franchise quarterback, Pittsburgh needs to finish in a good place in the North to be able to prove the expectations right. The Steelers are also somewhat of an underrated team, with ESPN picking the Cleveland Browns to trend up in rankings over the Steelers. Pittsburgh needs their QB1 to step up in a big way if they aim to be competitive in the AFC this year.
What do you think of Starkey's opinion of Pickett? Will Pickett finish as a top-five quarterback in the AFC? Let us know your thoughts in a comment below!
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