The Pittsburgh Steelers need to ace this draft, but here’s why they play it safe in Mel Kiper’s latest two-round NFL mock draft.
A new era is about to begin in Pittsburgh. Eighteen-year quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger, is recently retired while general manager, Kevin Colbert, is finishing his last offseason as the head honcho of the front office.
The tide in the AFC North has been shifting over the past five years. In a division that once featured Ben Roethlisberger as the clear-cut best QB, now views Mitch Trubisky as a distant fourth.
Bengals quarterback, Joe Burrow is off to a remarkable start, while no QB has a higher win percentage than Lamar Jackson since he came into the league in 2018. The nail in the coffin is that the Clevland Browns finally found a franchise quarterback in Deshaun Watson — a three-time Pro Bowler with a 104.5 career passer rating.
Recently, prominent NFL Draft analysts Mel Kiper Jr. conducted a two-round mock draft. Kiper had the Pittsburgh Steelers going with QB Kenny Pickett with the 20th overall pick. Here’s what he had to say about the selection:
"Kenny Pickett, QB, PittI’d feel much more comfortable taking Pickett here than I would in the top 10. Best-case scenario is that he’s Derek Carr, and his floor is as an Andy Dalton-type, which isn’t a bad quarterback by any means. Pittsburgh can win with that. Still, those two were taken in Round 2 and didn’t have Round 1 expectations surrounding them. If Pickett falls into the Steelers’ laps here, he’d be tough to pass up. And he has a little more upside than Mitch Trubisky."
In the second round, Kiper has Pittsburgh going with Alabama WR John Metchie III (which is a bit of a reach, in my opinion). Metchie is coming off a torn ACL in December.
Based on what we’ve heard all offseason, you might think that being able to land Kenny Pickett without a trade-up is an ideal scenario. However, I would suggest that when it comes to the QB position, the Steelers need to go big or go home.
Steelers can’t settle at the QB position
I have little doubt that Kenny Pickett could come in and help lead an NFL team early in his career. I think Pickett has a relatively high floor thanks to his extensive playing experience and ability to go through progressions.
However, I also believe that Pickett could be limited in the NFL. Of the top five quarterbacks this year, Pickett might have the worst arm of the group, and that’s not something that’s going to get better with time.
I also don’t love the fact that he was already a man playing amongst boys. Pickett will be a 24-year-old rookie and it took him five years to have a respectable season at Pitt. In addition, Pickett has some of the smallest hands we have ever seen at the QB position, and his 38 fumbles in college can’t be ignored.
The fact that Kiper believes Pickett will fall somewhere between Andy Dalton and Derek Carr should tell you all you need to know. For what it’s worth, I think this is a very fair assessment. Pickett doesn’t have elite upside and will likely be a quarterback who relies on talent around him.
If this is indeed what you are getting, is he worth investing in — especially considering the talent Pittsburgh will be up against with opposing AFC North quarterbacks over the next decade? I really believe the Steelers need to go big or go home with this pick. They can’t lock themselves into a player with a limited NFL ceiling.