What the Steelers should be playing for in lost season

Can Kenny Pickett improve?

At the end of the day, this has to be the primary focus of the Steelers for the remainder of the season. Kenny Pickett has had a rough rookie season. He was very mistake-prone early in the year, but even after he settled in and committed fewer turnovers, his play wasn’t dynamic. He has lacked a truly remarkable game this year.

While any rookie will struggle in their first year, you really wanted to see more out of a prospect that was considered pro-ready as a rookie. Pickett is struggling to connect on deep passes and has failed to progress through reads. He has flashed good pocket presence at times and an accurate arm on shorter passes, but he hasn’t made the case that he can be the guy moving forward.

If Pickett continues to fail to progress, the Steelers won’t cut bait with him. They won’t really be in the position to and they tend to give their rookies time to develop. That said, if his season continues as is, I will be further convinced that Pickett isn’t a viable starter long-term. He doesn’t need to be perfect, but he must make some more strides and have some better performances.

The Steelers playoff hopes are essentially washed, but the team still has plenty to play for in 2022. Their goals have shifted though, as they need to be looking at the future of this team as opposed to just what gets them another win in a lost season. These four areas should be the main focus points for the team moving forward.