Kenny Pickett could be a top-10 QB in Year 2

Steelers Update on Pennlive

More than a week before the Steelers host the San Francisco 49ers, some very prominent sports analysts in Pittsburgh are brimming with superlatives when it comes to QB Kenny Pickett and his sky-high potential in his sophomore season. One even used the word “unstoppable” when it comes to Pickett and this year’s offense under heretofore much-criticized coordinator Matt Canada. Unstoppable? The Steelers’ offense? We haven’t heard those words in the same sentence since the heydays of the Killer Bs: Big Ben Roethlisberger, Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell. Much of this is based on a total of just 15 passes Pickett threw in the preseason in three exhibition games against Tampa Bay, Buffalo, and Atlanta. But in the NFL, it’s all about the regular season. If a young NFL QB can make it there, he can make it anywhere, so the Sinatra song goes. Yet, some Pittsburgh pundits aren’t waiting until Pickett’s passes fly for real. They’re declaring Pickett the real deal right now. Pittsburgh sports radio personality and Post-Gazette columnist Joe Starkey is projecting Pickett will take his place among the NFL’s top 10 QBs in his second year. Despite the 2022 Steelers averaging just 18.1 points per game, Starkey says Pickett is poised to win “shootouts” in the pass-happy, QB-loaded AFC. Not all of Pickett’s praise-givers are ready to go quite this far. Yet, the Pickett hype in Pittsburgh is unlike anything we’ve seen in many years heading into a Steelers’ season seemingly packed with promise and potential. We have more on Pickett and the Steelers’ offense, plus the impact of some surprising roster moves ahead of the regular season. It’s all in this can’t-wait-for-Week-1 edition of your Steelers Update podcast. And be sure to catch my full print column first thing every Thursday on PennLive. As always, it will be packed with plenty of memes bringing the latest, greatest Steelers debates to life – and to laughs.

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