Dulac: Steelers Are Not Thrilled With Kenny Pickett's Development In Year 2

The Pittsburgh Steelers had an incredible luxury with a franchise quarterback in Ben Roethlisberger for 18 seasons. He played at a high level for nearly two decades and the team didn't have to worry about making a perfect selection with a signal-caller in any draft during his tenure. Reality hit quickly in 2022 when the organization was faced with attempting to replace him. Kenny Pickett ended up being taken with the 20th overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. He has now played in 18 and started 17 games for Pittsburgh. He has yet to make a significant leap, which is starting to cause concern.

People are quick to point out that it's hard to evaluate Pickett because he is in a horrible offensive scheme designed by Matt Canada. Gerry Dulac, a Steelers insider for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, hosted one of his weekly chats on Wednesday. He doesn't think a rough final stretch of the 2023 season will impact Pickett's job security, but he also cautioned fans about blaming everything on Canada.

"I don't think they are going to move on from Pickett after the season, but I will say the blame is not solely on Matt Canada. His QB needs to play better, not just in the fourth quarter."

Pickett has been known in his young career to play much better in the final 15 minutes as opposed to the first 45. The quarterback was a popular topic in Wednesday's online discussion. Another fan wanted to talk about Pickett's second year up to this point, which is traditionally a critical season if any young signal-caller wants to be a mainstay within the organization that drafted him.

"I don't know that there is concern right now, but I'm not going to sit here and tell you they are thrilled with his development in year two."

The comments are significant because the Steelers might be faced with a polarizing decision at the end of the 2023 campaign. There are plenty of quarterbacks who will be selected in the first half of the initial round in 2024, and the front office can't be blinded by loyalty. Is it possible that Pickett could be replaced if the rest of his sophomore season goes poorly?

Steelers Could Be In The Market For A Quarterback In 2024

The good news for fans and Pickett is that the team has only played five games and the bye week might have come at the perfect time for an inconsistent group. However, the next 12 weeks will be the most important of Pickett's young career yet. It's no secret that the NFL is a quarterback-driven league and the Steelers have way too much talent and money invested on defense to wait around for a guy to slowly develop.

Make no mistake, Pickett will be the guy for the rest of 2023 and probably the start of 2024, but it shouldn't come as a surprise if Pittsburgh takes a look at the position if there isn't a ton of improvement over the course of the next 12 games. Pickett attended the University of Pittsburgh and it was extremely exciting when he was drafted, but if the franchise isn't thrilled with his development, getting stuck in quarterback purgatory has to be in the back of the front office's mind.

Pickett and the offense looked like a completely different unit after the bye in 2022. The hope is that the same thing occurs in 2023, and there are no concerns about their quarterback's growth entering the 2024 offseason. Canada absolutely deserves a lot of blame, but as Dulac said, Pickett could certainly be better and much more consistent.

It doesn't take a football fanatic to watch the Steelers and understand that the guy leading the offensive group is not an elite NFL quarterback. It's incredibly imperative to have full trust in your signal-caller. Pittsburgh could be starting to lose a little bit of patience with Pickett and if that's the case, the 2024 offseason could get extremely interesting.

Do you think there's any chance the loyal Steelers would bring in extreme competition for Pickett in 2024? Let us know in the comments bellow!

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