It is never easy to follow a legend. This was the position Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett found himself in last season following Ben Roethlisberger. However, by the end of the season, Pickett didn’t act much like a rookie and certainly wasn’t playing like one.
But for Pickett, he’s got his eye on a big jump in his second NFL season as he told the Steelers official team site:
There are so many things I’m going to go through here in this offseason in order for me to take that big jump in Year Two, which I’m expecting myself to do. There were so many new things coming in this year that you can’t even put into this one interview that you’re going through as a rookie quarterback in the NFL. I just got so much more comfortable from the first day I walked in here to the last day of the season. It’s like night and day. I felt like I’ve been here for two or three years versus one season, how much time I’ve been around everybody. So having that groundwork, that base, the work in the offseason. I’m really excited.
Pickett looked calm and mature in his final handful of starts, commanding the offense and even leading the team to two game-winning drives in the fourth quarter.
Not to rain on anyone’s parade, but it’s important to note the Steelers didn’t play great teams in the second half of the 2022 season and the offense turned to a run-heavy scheme down the stretch to make like easier on Pickett.
It’s hard to say just how much offensive coordinator Matt Canada is going to up the complexity for Pickett next season or if he will continue to dumb things down in the passing game and instead focus on a conservative approach by running the football.
