Josh Dobbs remorse is real for Steelers fans (and Kenny Pickett isn't helping)

I was a big fan of Josh Dobbs since watching him play his college football at Tennessee. When the Pittsburgh Steelers selected him in the fourth round of the 2017 NFL Draft, I thought there was a chance that he could serve as a developmental QB behind veteran Ben Roethlisberger. However, just one year later, the Steelers drafted Mason Rudolph in the third round.

The window of opportunity didn't line up well for Dobbs in Pittsburgh, and he quickly took a backseat. After being passed around the league, the dual-threat quarterback has finally been given the opportunity to start in this league, and Dobbs has caught the attention of the national NFL media.

Things exploded for Dobbs back in Week 3 with the Cardinals. Thanks to his impressive legs and some clutch throws, he was able to lead Arizona to a massive upset win over the Dallas Cowboys. Dobbs was doing a lot without much to work with prior to being traded to the Minnesota Vikings just before the deadline.

Despite only spending a few days with the team, Dobbs was forced to enter the game in Week 10 when rookie QB Jaren Hall sustained an injury. He went on to lead his team to a 31-28 comeback victory over the Falcons.

In Week 10, Dobbs continues to have everyone talking. As underdogs against the New Orleans Saints, Dobbs had another impressive showing -- throwing for 268 yards on nearly 8 yards per attempt while chipping in 44 rushing yards and 2 total touchdowns in the 27-19 win.

The sudden emergence of the former Steelers draft pick has fans talking about what things would have been like if he had been given more than 17 pass attempts to prove himself in Pittsburgh. The disappointing play of Kenny Pickett isn't helping.

Josh Dobbs is outplaying the Steelers' first-round QB

While Steelers fans clearly aren't happy with offensive coordinator, Matt Canada, it's hard to argue that Kenny Pickett has had a tougher route to success than Joshua Dobbs has had this year. Dobbs was traded from the Browns to the Cardinals just before the start of the season and was asked to lead a team void of talent. From there, he was thrust into action right away in Minnesota following his trade to the Vikings.

Dobbs has had some brutal circumstances to overcome so far, but he has managed to impress. On the season, the journeyman quarterback has 16 total touchdowns to go with just 5 interceptions with a respectable 85.1 passer rating, per Pro Football Reference. On the other hand, Pickett has managed just 7 total touchdowns and 4 picks to go with his 81.1 passer rating in the same number of games.

Pickett supporters will be quick to point out the fact that Kenny's team does have a 6-3 record this year as well as several game-winning drives. However, the win column is a team stat, and the Steelers have never surrendered more than 17 points in any game in which Pickett has earned a game-winning drive.

If the roles were reversed and Pickett was left playing for the Cardinals and Vikings in a pinch, it's hard to imagine him looking much better. It's worth mentioning that Josh Dobbs has yet to play with All-Pro WR Justin Jefferson, yet is still finding a way to carry his team to victory.

We can never go back and see what life would have been like if Josh Dobbs had been given an opportunity to lead the Pittsburgh Steelers, and he might not have been the answer. However, the disappointing play from Kenny Pickett is making it even harder not to notice the plays that Dobbs has been making this year.

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