If you've been keeping a watchful eye around the NFL this year, it's been hard not to notice former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback, Josh Dobbs. Just before the start of the season, Dobbs was traded to the Arizona Cardinals to be the stop-gap starter with QB Kyler Murray sidelined.
The situation has not been favorable for the journeyman QB and he hasn't had much talent to work with, but Dobbs has really splashed at times to catch the attention of the national football media. Back in Week 3, Dobbs led the Cardinals to one of the biggest upsets early in the season -- taking down the Dallas Cowboys while scoring 28 points in the process.
Last week, Dobbs was surprisingly shipped to Minnesota just before the trade deadline. Kirk Cousins had ruptured his Achilles, and Dobbs served as quality depth at the right price.
But despite being traded just days ago, the dual-threat QB was thrust into action in the first quarter against the Falcons in Week 9 when rookie QB Jaren Hall landed in concussion protocol. Dobbs went on to lead his team to a 31-28 victory in his first-ever game in a Vikings uniform. He scored 3 total touchdowns -- including the game-winning TD as time nearly expired in the fourth quarter.
Steelers aren't getting enough out of Kenny Pickett
When we look at Kenny Pickett for the Steelers over the past year and a half, it pains me to say that the sample of play that we witnessed hasn't been much better. Statistically, Josh Dobbs has outperformed Pickett when it comes to most efficiency numbers, per Pro Football Reference, and he has nearly as many total touchdowns despite starting half as many games.
Kenny Pickett in 21 NFL games (20 starts:
— Tommy Jaggi (@TommyJaggi) November 6, 2023
13 TD, 13 INT
62.4% comp
6.3 Y/A
5.8 adj. Y/A
4.9 adj. net Y/A
258 rush yards
4 rush TD
78.5 rating
Josh Dobbs in 17 NFL games (10 starts):
12 TD, 8 INT
62.2% comp
5.7 Y/A
5.4 adj Y/A
4.6 adj net Y/A
399 rush yards
4 rush TD
79.5 rating
This isn't to say that the Steelers were wrong by not making Joshua Dobbs their starting quarterback. Rather, this is more of a sample of how displeased fans should be with what Pickett has done so far.
Even though Pittsburgh invested a first-round draft choice in what they hoped would be a franchise quarterback, Pickett isn't even performing better than a QB who has been passed around the league and has entered some brutal and unfamiliar situations.
The wins are nice, yes, but that's a team stat. Oftentimes, the Steelers are winning in spite of Kenny Pickett, not because of him. Pittsburgh's winning record can just as easily be contributed to non-quarterbacks like T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith as it could be to Pickett.
Pickett could still turn things around and start playing much better, but I was never a believer in the total package, to begin with. Pickett has a modest arm, by NFL standards, and he was a very old prospect entering the league in 2022.
Outperforming a former fourth-round quarterback like Josh Dobbs can't be the standard the Pittsburgh Steelers trying to reach, but the fact that Dobbs has arguably been better than Kenny Pickett just shows how far away this team is from having a true franchise QB at this point in time.