Steelers' deadly duo has team poised for perfect September start
The Pittsburgh Steelers may have missed the playoffs in 2022, but there's a lot to like about the team heading into 2023. And a lot of it starts with the young, but extremely promising duo of Kenny Pickett and George Pickens. In the 10 games that Pickett played 100% of offensive snaps, the two connected […]
The Pittsburgh Steelers may have missed the playoffs in 2022, but there's a lot to like about the team heading into 2023.
And a lot of it starts with the young, but extremely promising duo of Kenny Pickett and George Pickens. In the 10 games that Pickett played 100% of offensive snaps, the two connected 33 times for 476 receiving yards and five receiving touchdowns on 50 targets. Those numbers include a robust 10 connections for 158 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns over the final three games of the season. All four of Pickens' receiving touchdowns were from Pickett, as well.
It's clear the connection got stronger as the season went on and the numbers back it up. The Steelers offense hindered the team's playoff aspirations in 2022, so Mike Tomlin and co. really need Pickett and Pickens to continue their development in 2023.
And it doesn't need to be a slow burn – they need to hit the ground running. Based off the end to 2022 and what we've seen in training camp/preseason, it looks like that could very well be the case.
Pickett, the Steelers’ 2022 first-round pick, ranked eighth among quarterbacks with an Expected-Points-Added-per-dropback rate of 0.10 in the final five weeks. That was well above his overall season rate of -0.02 (23rd), demonstrating the improvement Pickett made toward the end of his rookie season. Pickett’s EPA rate stood tall despite only an 81.4 passer rating (24th) and a 56.3 completion percentage (26th) in Weeks 14-18, meaning he was at his best in key moments.
Maybe it helped that Pickett leaned on Pickens, the team’s 2022 second-round pick. Pickens led all qualified NFL wide receivers (81 WRs) in EPA per target (0.89), EPA per reception (2.0) and average air yards per target (17.0). The rookie wideout snagged two of his four TD receptions in the final five weeks.
Pickett ended this preseason with a perfect 158.3 passer rating and Pickens has made his fair share of eye-popping catches during training camp and the preseason. This could be a big Year 2 for the duo. – Larry Holder, The Athletic
If Pickett, Pickens and the Steelers offense can complement an already good defense, then the Steelers have a great shot at starting 4-0 on the season. They're toughest matchup is the season opener against the San Francisco 49ers, but it's a 1pm ET game, which means a 10AM kickoff in the Bay Area. That affects teams more than most think.
Plus, we know Tomlin will have his team ready for Week 1. We've seen it over the last two years – the Steelers were 6.5-point dogs heading into both the Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals matchups and yet, they were straight-up winners in 2021 and 2022. Right now, the 49ers are 2.5-point favorites, per Betonline.ag.
The Steelers then take on the Cleveland Browns in Week 2, which is another home game. There are still plenty of questions surrounding the Browns, so that's a very winnable game.
And finally, it's a road trip to Sin City that includes a matchup against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 3 and another road trip to Houston in Week 4. Back-to-back road games won't be easy, but those are definitely two winnable games when placing the current state of each team into context.
If Pickett and Pickens can help the Steelers offense get off to a fast start then there's no reason to think they can't help the season get off to a fast start. The best part is it wouldn't just apply to 2023, either. A fast start and continued development/improvement would also bode well for the future, as a whole.
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