Fans of the Pittsburgh Steelers are already falling in love with rookie quarterback, Kenny Pickett. While the thought of Pickett starting right away can be connected to Ben Roethlisberger's incredible first season, the NFL is a completely different game than it was back in 2004 and a first-year quarterback being thrown into action may not be the best decision by the organization. ESPN analyst and former All-Pro center, Jeff Saturday went on the record Thursday morning to give his take on why the Steelers should slowly ease Pickett into things and not rush him into any starting action.
Steelers Kenny Pickett warms up for his first ever NFL action against the Seattle Seahawks on August 13, 2022 at Acisure Stadium. | Jordan Schofield/SteelerNation (@JSKO_PHOTO Twitter)
Steelers Should Be Cautious When Thinking About Starting Pickett Right Off The Bat
While the rookie has had success in preseason action, Saturday believes that you can't look into the impressive play too much and a ton of factors come into play when evaluating his performance thus far. Reason one:
"Most of the completions are very short completions and he's letting them run after the catch which is great for a rookie, but he's also playing against light competition. When teams start scripting for you and planning for you, which will happen this week a little more than in weeks prior in the preseason, it's a different game," Saturday said.
The following message from the former Indianapolis Colts' center was that it is time to lay off the idea of him being thrown into the fire and being the week one starter for the Steelers:
"I think people need to kind of pump the brakes right here about how his progression has looked. You see him competing against one of the best defenses in practice, you love to see that, but don't just take the preseason games and think you're going to make your decision based on those things."
Reason two, Pickett's competition, Mitch Trubisky, has looked solid and has the experience to be the starter against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 1:
"Trubisky has done a good job. He understands when teams script against you what it's going to look like and I'm going to say this: This line is bad. This is a bad offensive line," Saturday said. "A quarterback who can use his legs and use that zone read and all of the pieces and parts of Trubisky's game, I think make the Steelers better right now than Pickett from the pocket."
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Mitch Trubisky(10) during a preseason game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Seattle Seahawks, Saturday, Aug.13, 2022 in Pittsburgh, PA. (Abigail Dean/Pittsburgh Steelers)
Reason three, Saturday even warned that it is possible third downs won't be pretty during the regular season if Mike Tomlin elects to start Pickett over Trubisky.
"Because when teams know passing downs, it could be ugly for Pittsburgh. I'm just saying that from a rookie perspective. You have a bunch of exotic defenses and no protection. That leads to a beat up body and that is not what Pittsburgh is looking for."
Tomlin stated earlier this week that the decision about who will start at quarterback will be related to performances in the team's final preseason game this Sunday against the Detroit Lions. While he may already know who he wants to lead the team in a couple weeks, he sure did stir the pot and has many members of the media speculating and debating who should be the guy.
What are your thoughts on the comments from the former Super Bowl Champion? Let us know in the comments below!
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