All eyes will be on Kenny Pickett during offseason workouts and training camp as the Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback will look to make an important leap in Year 2.
While the team drafted Pickett late in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft, the team was not planning for him to be the team’s starter, signing veteran Mitchell Trubisky to serve in that capacity. But as Trubisky struggled, the Steelers turned to their young quarterback and he proved that he was ready to step in and lead. During his rookie campaign. Pickett led the Steelers to a 7-5 record while completing 63 percent of his passes for 2,404 yards with seven touchdowns and nine interceptions.
Speaking with the Steelers team website, Pickett revealed that he only took a week off following the completion of his rookie season. He’s grown into his role, but he wants to continue that growth and that work starts in the offseason. Pickett has picked up where he left off and planned a workout with his teammates in Florida during the spring.
Pickett discussed his biggest growth from a season ago and how he can make that important leap during his sophomore season.
“The biggest growth for me was mentally,” said Pickett via the team website. “Just understanding of the system. It comes with reps. You want that fast. You can study on paper, you can study in the film room, but sometimes you really just need to go through some things and see it with your own eyes and then watch yourself go through it on tape. I felt like my growth mentally, when I’m out there processing things faster, week by week I saw growth. That’s always a real positive thing.
Now I just want to keep growing there. . . . There are so many things I’m going to go through here in this offseason in order for me to take that big jump in Year Two, which I’m expecting myself to do. There were so many new things coming in this year that you can’t even put into this one interview that you’re going through as a rookie quarterback in the NFL. I just got so much more comfortable from the first day I walked in here to the last day of the season. It’s like night and day. I felt like I’ve been here for two or three years versus one season, how much time I’ve been around everybody. So having that groundwork, that base, the work in the offseason. I’m really excited.”
We’ll have to see how Pickett ultimately fares in Year 2 of his NFL career, but it’s clear he has big expectations for himself moving forward.
About Sam Neumann
Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.