With the new NFL season upon us, the talk is shifting away from offseason topics to ones centered around this season. The Steelers have seen their stock rise in recent weeks. A strong preseason and a team with a clear identity have caused a lot of excitement for this franchise.
That will ultimately be put to the test with a potential playoff run, but I wanted to focus on the individual players here and rate their chances of making the Pro Bowl. While the Pro Bowl isn’t what it once was, it is still a good measuring stick for how good a player is.
I’ve given ratings for every starter (plus some extra players that I could see garnering some buzz) as follows: Lock (>95% chance), Likely (>75% chance), Sleeper (~50% chance), Not Likely (<25% chance), and Impossible (<5% chance). These are all my opinions, but also take into account perceived roles, national recognition, competition, full health for the season, and of course, raw talent.
With all of that said, here are my Pro Bowl odds for the Steelers roster this season.
Steelers quarterback Pro Bowl odds
Not Likely: Kenny Pickett
The only quarterback I’ll mention, as ideally none of the other options play much, I can already hear some in the fanbase upset with this rating. Kenny Pickett has quickly grown his fanbase, and some view him as a potentially elite player already. For a wide variety of reasons though, I don’t have the same hopes this season.
For starters, despite a strong preseason, I don’t see Pickett putting up the needed stats to earn Pro Bowl consideration. This offense is built around a strong running game, and that will inherently limit Pickett’s opportunity to really ball out. He can, and hopefully will, post an efficient season, but will that be enough to make the Pro Bowl?
I would lean towards no. Add in the fact that the AFC is stacked at quarterback and the odds go even lower. I can’t imagine that Pickett does enough to warrant a Pro Bowl nod over a healthy Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Joe Burrow, Justin Herbert, Aaron Rodgers, or Lamar Jackson. There is a slimmer of hope, as second-year quarterbacks have a history of breaking out, but I just don’t see it happening with Pickett this season.