Steelers QB Kenny Pickett draws comparison to fellow AFC North foe
Anyone who tells you they know what Steelers QB Kenny Pickett is going to be in the NFL, well let's say is being presumptuous to just keep things nice. Pickett has barely played in the league, with the upcoming season being his first chance to create a mark on his future. But comparisons are a […]
Anyone who tells you they know what Steelers QB Kenny Pickett is going to be in the NFL, well let's say is being presumptuous to just keep things nice.
Pickett has barely played in the league, with the upcoming season being his first chance to create a mark on his future.
But comparisons are a part of the game, even if some leave you scratching your head more than others:
Steven Ruiz co-hosts the Ringer NFL Show on Spotify. In one of their recent episodes, he and Nora Princiotti continued on their power rankings, this time analyzing the AFC North.
When getting into specifics, Ruiz had an interesting take on Kenny Pickett, one I've yet to hear anywhere else:
"I think the problem is that Kenny Pickett's ceiling is Deshaun Watson's floor," said Steven Ruiz on why The Ringer has them placed last in their AFC North rankings. "I honestly think there's a lot of overlap in their games that maybe is hard to recognize, but they kind of play a similar style."
"They're both a little antsy in the pocket and tend to run into pressure themselves. They have good arms where they can make throws on the run, and they're athletic. But there are questions about like their overall velocity on their throws," added Ruiz.
"Also, they're both known as pocket passers, but that can be a little iffy because It's like they're always looking for a way to make things chaotic so I think there's actually a lot of overlap in their games. And I think we've seen the Deshaun make that work before, (chaotic quarterback play) whereas we've never seen that from Kenny Pickett."
As someone who enjoys making and analyzing comps, this one left me puzzled. Your typical comparison for Pickett is-was; Derek Carr, Andy Dalton on the Bengals, Alex Smith on the Chiefs, etc.
But Deshaun Watson?
Even when Watson was one of the better players in the league, he was an out-of-structure playmaker that also had some of the best scrambling ability at the position. That's not, never has been, and never will be Pickett's game if he wants to make it in this league.
Pickett's recipe for success in the NFL will include playing within the structure of the offense and playing on time and in rhythm.
So while the jury is still out on who Kenny Pickett will be in the NFL, it surely won't be Deshaun Watson in my opinion.
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