How Steelers QB Kenny Pickett is already proving doubters wrong
Kenny Pickett was drafted to be the future of the Pittsburgh Steelers. But many worried about the way his game would translate to the NFL, especially when comparing his projection to the elite passers in the league. One of those question marks was athleticism, but as Ben Solak of The Ringer pointed out, Pickett quietly […]
Kenny Pickett was drafted to be the future of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
But many worried about the way his game would translate to the NFL, especially when comparing his projection to the elite passers in the league.
One of those question marks was athleticism, but as Ben Solak of The Ringer pointed out, Pickett quietly silenced some of those doubts last season:
On a recent episode of The Ringer NFL Show, Ben Solak and Steven Ruiz explained why scrambling is so important to the future of the quarterback position. And despite what many may think of Pickett, he used scrambling to his advantage for a large portion of his rookie season:
"One of the most fascinating things about Kenny Pickett's pre-draft process was how everybody loved him as a processor," said Solak. "Everyone was like, 'Look at him get through reads, look at him process.' But you turn on the NFL film and he's not doing that. He was kind of getting billed at times as this guy that can read the field really well, but the best plays that he was making were based off his physical talent…based off his mobility, and then his arm. Those were his most translatable, high-quality, high-tier plays last season."
And as someone that openly criticized Pickett's ability to create out of structure when leaving college, his first year in the NFL largely answered that question, even if it was at the cost of some pure QB play.
"One of the reasons that I was low on Pickett coming out is because I was like this guy relies on athleticism so much and I don't think he's gonna walk in the NFL and be that great of an athlete," said Solak.
"I didn't think he was gonna necessarily measure up to the rest of the guys. Well, Pickett performed better last year than I thought he would. I'm not gonna go out and say Pickett was incredible or anything and I'm not expecting a massive year to jump or something like that. But he was more functional than I thought he be…
"… A big part of it was because it doesn't really matter that he's not that crazy good of an athlete. The choosing to scramble, the choice to run, that just raised his floor so much. When we talk about why quarterback mobility matters so much, guys like Daniel Jones (Giants QB) and Kenny Pickett are the guys that come to mind, not Lamar Jackson or Jalen Hurts, it's these dudes."
And that's how Pickett should use scrambling in my opinion. To "raise his floor." While it was both refreshing and encouraging to see Pickett make throws out of the pocket, or garner yards with his legs, the position is still won from within the pocket.
So it's good that Pickett is proving doubters wrong when it comes to his physical traits, but hopefully he remembers where his bread is buttered.
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