Ben Roethlisberger admits he was wrong about Steelers QB Kenny Pickett

Ben Roethlisberger admits to making inaccurate assumptions bout Kenny Pickett. Here’s what the former Steelers quarterback is now saying about the rookie.

It’s not easy going from a future Hall of Fame quarterback to starting over with a rookie. But in recent weeks, Kenny Pickett has made this transition much smoother than we could have possibly expected. Since the bye, the rookie QB has led the Pittsburgh Steelers to a 6-2 record, and he was hardly responsible for the loss against the Ravens the first time around (a game in which Mitch Trubisky telegraphed 3 interceptions).

Like most fans, analysts, and players around he nation have already taken notice, so has former Steelers quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger. Believe it or not, Big Ben admits that his presuppositions about Pickett were grossly off base — saying that he ‘severely’ underestimated the rookie quarterback.

During a new episode of his ‘Footbahlin’ podcast, Roethlisberger had some remarkably kind words for Kenny Pickett. Here’s what he had to say:

"“I severely, in my opinion, underestimated Kenny. I think he throws the ball better than I thought. He runs way better than I thought. I don’t know if he’s faster or just more elusive, but he runs the ball way better than I expected. His decision-making is really, really good. His leadership, his toughness. Just enough of an edge to him it looks like. So, I apologize, not that I made this like vocal to anybody else, but in my own head. What I was saying, Kenny keep doing what you are doing, because you are leading this team and becoming the guy that I think everyone was hoping you would be. I think the sky’s the limit for him really.”"

This was the first time that we got a really good feel for how what Roethlisberger thought about Pittsburgh’s decision to select Kenny Pickett in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft, and the former franchise QB was extremely open in his response.

Ben continued that, although we’ve seen a lot of the signs from Pickett so far, he needs to continue to take the next step in the coming seasons.

"“Now, we got to see what Year two and three look like. That will be the key, in my opinion, to really take the next step. But he is all that and even more than I thought he was going to be. I mean, he led them down the field two weeks in a row, in Baltimore against a defense who hadn’t given up a touchdown in 15 quarters. Takes them down the field, keeps some plays alive, runs some, throws some."

Do the Steelers have their next franchise quarterback?

Even the player who has been in a position as the Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback for nearly two decades managed to change his opinion on Kenny Pickett before the end of his rookie season. Fans around the globe have been doing the same.

We all (myself included) had predetermined biases either for or against Pickett when he was drafted by the Steelers. Some couldn’t get over the fact that he had historically small hands for the quarterback position, and many questioned why it took him until his fifth season at Pitt to put up respectable numbers.

Though Pickett doesn’t have a cannon attached to his right shoulder like Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen, he might just have that ‘it’ factor about him that could make him the next franchise quarterback of the Pittsburgh Steelers. That’s how former Saints head coach, Sean Payton, recently described him.

Despite seeing some very encouraging signs, we may not know for certain if Kenny Pickett is going to be a franchise QB who can lead the Steelers to success until his second or third season in the league. However, the fact that Ben Roethlisberger (who has been in that exact position) is taking notice is a great sign that he really could be ‘the guy.’