Steelers Biggest Turkeys: 4 players I'm not thankful for in 2023

Steelers Biggest Turkey #1: Kenny Pickett

I will be the first to say I am very scared of what Kenny Pickett could do to this team. He was taken in the first round with the hopes of keeping this team trending as competitors, but that hasn’t been the case. I wasn’t overly high on him coming out of school, and his play so far has been even worse than I expected.

While many are quick to lump all of the offensive blame on coaching, that simply isn’t the case. Pickett has been pretty bad this season, and while has had the occasional drive that inspires hope, he mixes that in with poor accuracy, an inability to progress through reads, and an absolutely horrible pocket presence, all things that a “pro ready” quarterback should be able to do.

No, he hasn’t been the worst performer on this list, but he arguably has the worst long-term outlook for this team. Assuming he continues on this path, he will be the awkward quarterback who expects to get paid yet isn’t a great franchise player. Daniel Jones, Derek Carr, and Jimmy Garoppolo come to mind as recent examples.

Pickett hasn’t looked like a complete bust, but his overall play also lacks the consistency to elevate this offense. Fans are quick to defend him given the fact he played college football at Pitt, and while I expect him to still have some good moments, I don’t think it will be enough to make him a true game-changer.

Unless he completely flames out, this team will also likely be too stubborn to admit they were wrong about him. It isn’t out of the question to see him get his option picked up when eligible and even get an extension. Those rarely work out and limit the team’s ability to spend elsewhere. All of these reasons are why I see Pickett as the current biggest turkey on the roster.

While the Steelers have found a way to win this season, there are still a lot of issues on their team. While the Thanksgiving holiday is centered around being thankful for things, these four Steelers are certainly players that I am not thankful to have around this holiday season.