Steelers QB Kenny Pickett is pulling a vet move in year two
Kenny Pickett is far from a finished product at the quarterback position. The recently turned 25-year-old has to hone in on key aspects of his game but he's basically a savvy vet in one area that matters most. It may come across as tongue and cheek, but for a QB to truly be successful, he […]
Kenny Pickett is far from a finished product at the quarterback position.
The recently turned 25-year-old has to hone in on key aspects of his game but he's basically a savvy vet in one area that matters most.
It may come across as tongue and cheek, but for a QB to truly be successful, he has to be an elite communicator, something Pickett's teammates already believe he has become:
Steelers recently acquired wide receiver Allen Robinson has taken a liking to the organization and the city of Pittsburgh as a whole. The veteran has been around his fair share of quarterbacks, including Steelers backup Mitch Trubisky, along with Super Bowl Champion Matt Stafford in LA.
So when Robinson spoke about the importance of communication and how Kenny Pickett is already so far ahead, it was sure to make waves:
“This is all about communication,” Robinson told reporters. “I’m always by the quarterbacks and by Kenny. When you hear their terminologies, listen to their language, and see what they see, I’m hearing the play all the time. Kenny does a great job of letting us know all of that. He’s always talking about what he sees and feels. Like, is this route too fast, is this stem wrong, did we not communicate with each other, and all of that. He’s unique in the fact that he goes deeper into what goes into each and every play.”
That's the kind of nuance that Kenny Pickett will need to be successful in this league. His lack of elite traits is well documented (although usually overblown) meaning his attention to detail has to be what carries him, something he seems to realize:
“The biggest thing with this guy is communication,” Robinson said. “He comes to up to me after the play and he’ll be like ‘if we see this, we need to get to this’ or ‘hey, if I see this I would like to throw this’, and he does that to everyone out there. When watching film, he tells us what he’s seeing. At the end of the day, based on what he’s seeing will take us to the next level. He makes sure we’re all on the same page.”
While it's nice to be able to throw the ball a country mile, run like a wide receiver, or use arm slots with pinpoint accuracy, not every NFL QB has that in their game. But as Robinson is clearly articulating, not every QB can relate to his guys both on and off the field, something Kenny Pickett shows in spades.
Featured image via: © Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
