Tomorrow the Pittsburgh Steelers will come together as a team for the first time since the 2022 NFL Draft was completed. It will be the first time Mike Tomlin and his staff will be able to see his veterans, and rookies in the same setting. This comes a week after Pittsburgh completed their rookie mini camp. It will be the first time Kenny Pickett will take snaps in a rotation with Mason Rudolph, and Mitchell Trubisky.
Steelers' First-Round QB Kenny Pickett drops back in Mini Camp (Karl Roser/Pittsburgh Steelers)
The goal for Pickett since being drafted was to learn the playbook enough so that the coaching staff would feel good enough about his preparation to insert him into the rotation with Trubisky, and Rudolph. If Pickett wants to have a chance to win the starting spot he's going to need to get reps. That mean's knowing what he's doing as quickly as possible, because if he doesn't know the entire playbook it will slow the offensive as a whole down.
But it seems like Pickett isn't going to let anything slow him down. That includes when he's on the field for Pittsburgh. He recently talked to Teresa Varley of Steelers.com
"I feel like I am relentless, fearless when I play," Pickett told Steelers.com. "When I get out there on the field, I just feel like I'm the best player. I'm confident because of how hard I've worked to get to the point and how prepared I am. I'll do anything, absolutely anything to win. I think that's the number one key for the quarterback position. I think all the great ones have that or had that. I'm excited to join this team. Everyone just wants to win and I'm excited to be a part of that."
Confidence doesn't seem to be an issue with the rookie quarterback. That's often something that holds quarterbacks down at the next level. A few mistakes, and its over for them. They can't move onto the next play. Pickett doesn't seem like he's going to hold onto a bad first quarter throw and let it stop him from making the next play. His decision to stay at Pitt for a fifth season before declaring for the NFL draft may have further developed his mental game to prepare him for the struggles that are bound to come at the NFL level.
"I just think the experience of playing games and having starts under my belt, I think that really helps, seeing a lot of different defenses, playing a lot of different levels of competition," said Pickett. "I think it's just only going to help me at the next level."
Photo / Ryan Kang NFL
Pickett credited his dad for helping him stay on track as he grew up. Pickett knew at a young age that he wanted to go to the NFL, and even though at certain points he sometimes would get off track his dad would set him straight.
"That's the number one reason I think I'm here in terms of how bad I want to be the best," said Pickett. "That work ethic my dad helped instill at a young age. I caught fire with it early. Everyone in my hometown knows the different things that I was doing, things other kids weren't doing. Making sacrifices, knowing what I want to do in life and going after it with everything that I have. I think that helped me mature faster and make right decisions and do what's best.It's cool to finally say that I accomplished and reached the first goal. The first dream was getting drafted in the NFL and now other goals and dreams are being put in place."
Is it time for training camp yet? Because the showdown for the Steelers starting spot is going to be a very exciting one to follow.
