5 Steelers players having their most disappointing season in 2023

1. Kenny Pickett, Quarterback

Out of all of the disappointing players fans had high expectations for on this roster, Kenny Pickett has to be the biggest disappointment of them all. I was never a Kenny Pickett believer when the Steelers drafted him 20th overall in 2022, but after a thoroughly impressive training camp and preseason, I certainly had higher expectations for Pickett than what the Steelers got out of him this year.

While Pickett proved to be one of the best quarterbacks at taking care of the football this year, it was all for not. What good is it to not turn the ball over if you can't routinely score points? With Pickett at the helm, the Steelers had a bottom-five offense this season in terms of scoring.

What's worse is that Pickett appeared to have regressed from his rookie season. Prior to suffering the ankle injury against the Cardinals in Week 14, Pickett earned just 6 passing touchdowns in 12 starts this season. Additionally, his QBR plummeted well below the unspectacular 53.6 mark we saw from him as a rookie in 2022.

Pickett's sophomore performance was so discouraging that many fans are ready for the team to bite the bullet and move on from him in 2024. This wasn't what anyone was hoping for from the 25-year-old QB in his second NFL season.

All stats courtesy of Pro Football Reference.