The Pittsburgh Steelers used their first-round draft pick to select Kenny Pickett. Here are 4 takeaways from the Steelers drafting their potential franchise QB.
“It’s funny,” Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said. “We ended up with the guy next door.”
In a moment of uncertainty for Steelers fans, Franco Harris announced the Steelers selected Kenny Pickett as their first pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. The hometown hero and the Pittsburgh Panthers all-star will stay in town for the foreseeable future.
When Seattle, New Orleans, and Atlanta all passed on drafting a quarterback, it became apparent that the Steelers were going to have their choice between Kenny Pickett and Malik Willis. In the end, Pittsburgh went with the man they knew best.
This pick reveals a lot of what the Steelers were thinking as they looked to the future of the franchise. Most importantly, they believe that Pickett could fill the shoes of Ben Roethlisberger and become the next franchise quarterback.
Pickett could be the next franchise QB
Following in the footsteps of Ben Roethlisberger is a tough task for anyone to undertake, but the Steelers front office believes that Kenny Pickett’s confidence and abilities will help him to undertake that task.
It was pretty evident that the hype surrounding Malik Willis made him a front-runner for the Steelers first draft pick. Willis had the big arm, and he was quick and reminded a lot of people of a Lamar Jackson that could throw the ball well. I believe that hype was real, Willis is extremely talented, but Kevin Colbert wasn’t expecting Pickett to be there at the 20th pick.
That idea from Colbert indicates that the Steelers clearly thought that Pickett was the best quarterback in the draft class. The Steelers would know this better than anyone as they share the same training facility which gave them a close-up view of his performance at Pitt.