Steelers star will love the latest media-driven prediction
While the jury may still be out on Kenny Pickett as the future of the franchise, the Pittsburgh Steelers are operating as such. And they should, as every quarterback has to have the proper infrastructure surrounding him to prove that he's capable. But while some are skeptics, others are believers, with Conor Orr of Sports […]
While the jury may still be out on Kenny Pickett as the future of the franchise, the Pittsburgh Steelers are operating as such.
And they should, as every quarterback has to have the proper infrastructure surrounding him to prove that he's capable.
But while some are skeptics, others are believers, with Conor Orr of Sports Illustrated being the latest to fly the Pickett flag:
Conor Orr is a senior writer for Sports Illustrated, covering the NFL landscape with a broad brush. Today he released a fun piece, detailing 100 bold predictions for the 2023 season. Here's what he had to say about the Steelers signal caller:
Kenny Pickett will finish as a top-12 quarterback in terms of EPA+CPOE composite
First off, what’s that? The metric measures how much value a quarterback adds to a play over what’s expected and also how many passes a quarterback completes over what was expected, said Orr. It’s usually a pretty fair gauge of talent and value, with a few outliers. I’m buying big on Pickett in his second season, and I think you should, too.
Now the only thing I don't like about this prediction is that Orr deemed it "bold." In my opinion, this is very feasible if not likely given the upgrades on the offensive line and a minimum of two new additions at WR thanks to the Allen Robinson trade and the return to health of de-facto rookie Calvin Austin III.
For reference, Pickett finished 22nd in this metric last season with a score of 0.061. That placed him in between Derek Carr and Kyler Murray, with (who could have guessed) Patrick Mahomes atop the league at 0.178.
And while Pickett has a long way to go before he's amongst the elite, placing him in the top 12 is a likely landing spot if all goes well next season. Daniel Jones, Jared Goff, Jimmy Garappolo, and Jacoby Brissett all finished in the top 12 of the EPA+CPOE composite last season.
I expect a smoother year two, with a full offseason of preparation and understanding that he's now the guy to make things more fluid on the field this fall. Pickett has often been deemed a short-yardage savant but when comparing his air yards per throw (7.5) he actually beats out some of the best quarterbacks in the league in Joe Burrow (6.9) Justin Herbert (6.4) and Trevor Lawrence (7.4)
So while the offense and playcalling will have to mirror Pickett's development as a passer, the advanced metrics leave reason for media members like Orr and myself to be optimistic, yet the question still remains.
Can Kenny in fact make the jump?
We'll all soon find out.
Featured image via: © Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
