Steelers land their franchise QB in recent 2022 NFL mock draft

The Pittsburgh Steelers will have many needs in 2023, but here’s why Pro Football Focus has them focusing on the most important position. 

With the way things are shaping up in 2021, the Pittsburgh Steelers could be on track to have a pretty high draft selection. In fact, Mike Tomlin’s team would own the 15th overall pick if the NFL Draft started today.

Pittsburgh has a number of glaring needs. The offensive line is in shambles and the Steelers run defense is surprisingly among the worst in the league this year. As well, it’s clear that this team is lacking a true number one cornerback — something they really haven’t had in quite some time.

Despite all of these areas of concern, it wasn’t surprising to see which direction Pro Football Focus had them going in their latest 2022 NFL mock draft. With reports that this Will be Ben Roethlisberger’s final season in Pittsburgh, Austin Gayle of PFF had the Steelers going with quarterback Kenny Pickett.

The Pitt product has been a popular selection over the past few months for several reasons. For starters, it’s clear that Mike Tomlin needs to find his next franchise quarterback, as his offense has fallen flat in recent years.

In addition, the fact that Pickett is already a local product from Pitt has analysts intrigued. Pickett has spent the past five seasons playing at Heinz Field, so the Steelers have no doubt gotten a better look at him than any other team out there.

It also helps that Pickett could go within striking distance of the Steelers. With the way they have been playing since November, it’s still possible that Pittsburgh ends up with a top-10 pick in the 2022 NFL Draft next April. With teams having different preferences, it’s hardly a guarantee that Pickett is the first quarterback selected at this point in time, and some teams could opt to go a different direction altogether and take advantage of stronger talent groups early in the NFL Draft.

Does Pickett to Steelers make sense?

To an extent, every quarterback makes some level of sense to mock the Steelers this year. Nobody is going to argue that quarterback isn’t the most important position in football, and Pittsburgh has just Mason Rudolph under contract at the QB position next year.

If the Steelers do have a shot at Kenny Pickett, they must understand that he’s not in the Ben Roethlisberger mold of quarterback. He doesn’t have cannon to put the ball on a rope deep down the field or an arm that excels at cutting through the wind in Pittsburgh.

However, Pickett does offer something that Ben hasn’t since he was a much younger player: the ability to get outside the pocket and extend the play. In fact, I believe Pickett’s ability to elude the first man and keep his eyes down the field is one of his best traits.

While Pickett isn’t necessarily a threat to consistently move the chains as a runner, he’s certainly athletic enough to extend the play (think Joe Burrow lite).

The Pittsburgh Steelers could go in a number of directions with their first pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. Though it might be true that they prefer a quarterback like Sam Howell due to the arm and mobility, there’s no question that Kenny Pickett is going to be on their radar.