The biggest concern regarding Pitt Panthers quarterback Kenny Pickett heading into the 2022 NFL Draft was whether or not his small hands (relatively speaking) would cause him problems being able to throw in the NFL.
Clearly, the Pittsburgh Steelers didn’t seem too fazed by the measurements as they made Pickett the first QB drafted, selecting him with the 20th overall pick.
An emotional Kenny Pickett is staying in Pittsburgh. 🙌@kennypickett10 | @steelers
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— NFL (@NFL) April 29, 2022
On Wednesday, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin stopped by the Rich Eisen Show and was asked about any concerns he had about Pickett’s hands. He said that he might have if he didn’t already know what the quarterback was capable of playing in Western Pennsylvania weather.
“I was potentially capable of buying into that if I didn’t watch him play college football in Pittsburgh and deal with the elements that comes with playing in this environment,” said Tomlin. “So, you can get into the ‘hand size’ thing, or you can just look at how he performed in a variety of conditions. And we have those conditions here in Pittsburgh. So, there’s very little speculation from our perspective about how he might handle the ball in inclement weather, wet days, etc. They [University of Pittsburgh] played North Carolina here on a Thursday night. I actually went to the game and it was raining pretty good that night. Had no issues. And so, it was probably less of an issue for us [the Steelers organization] as it was just in terms of some of the draft chatter.”
To further drive home just how unconcerned the Steelers were about Pickett’s hands, GM Kevin Colbert spoke with Pro Football Talk and said watching Kenny play for Pitt told them everything they needed to know and all the measurement charter was overblown.
“Honestly, I never paid attention to that,” Colbert said. “We look at the results. We watch Kenny play in our environment. . . . Can he throw the football? Absolutely. Did he have an excessive fumble rate? No, he didn’t. We just judge it on how he played.”
Tomlin added that Pickett will get the chance to be the starter right out of the gate, competing directly with Mitchell Trubisky and Mason Rudolph. Even if he doesn’t get the nod right away, it’s clear that the Steelers have high hopes for Pickett and his hands.
