Steelers' Kenny Pickett Is Best Developing Quarterback in 2023, According To 1 Former NFL GM

There have been many questions about the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 2023 offseason and the main one has been about Kenny Pickett. Statistically, he was bad in 2022, despite being the first rookie to lead comeback drives in back-to-back games. However, he has been impressing everyone in training camp and preseason with accurate passes to receivers short and deep. He is putting the world on notice, including a former NFL general manager that now writes for The Athletic. Like with teammates, coaches, and other observers, Randy Mueller has fallen in love with Pickett's potential. 

Mueller made a list of who he believes are the best quarterbacks that are still young and developing. Pickett is headlining this list, and Mueller had nothing but good things to say about him. It sounds like there's plenty of good reasons to expect great things from the second-year quarterback, as well as why he is better than every other young, developing quarterback in the league.

“Pickett’s play is the most polished and diverse of {the group of young quarterbacks}. He has a feel for the pocket, can process info and get the ball to targets based on the coverage in a timely fashion, He is advanced beyond the others, so timing and anticipation are obvious when watching him go through reads and progressions."

When Pickett was going through the draft process, he was considered to be the most pro-ready prospect in the draft, partially due to how long he played in college. It makes plenty of sense that he would be the most polished quarterback in a group that's full of projects trying to become the next Patrick Mahomes. While Pickett doesn't have those expectations, he is still expected to develop properly and be a quality starting quarterback. 

Can The Steelers Develop Pickett The Right Way?

As Mueller also pointed out, a big part of Pickett's success would come from Matt Canada. It has already been confirmed that Canada handcuffed Pickett in his rookie year. From what preseason showed us, it looks like Canada has been opening the playbook more and letting Pickett take deep shots down the field. Mueller likes it and hopes it continues, even saying that Canada has much more pressure than Pickett. 

“He plays with a sense of confidence, and Steelers offensive coordinator Matt Canada is calling plays now without restriction. I actually think there is more pressure on Canada to advance the versatility of this offense than there is on Pickett to execute it. I don’t see Pickett holding the Steelers back, and in fact, they can win because of him, not despite him.”

Canada was originally hyped as a play-caller that could be innovative and help modernize a stagnant Steelers offense. His plays have been vanilla, with the only modern part of his game being endless jet sweeps to try and spread the defense sideline to sideline. The Steelers offense has remained stagnant under his short tenure, but with improved talent all over the offense, plus Pickett's development, there are no excuses for Canada to not develop as a coach. 

In that same statement, Mueller showed how confident he is in Pickett's ability, saying that he believes Pickett can be the reason that the Steelers win football games. With the talent on all sides of the ball, it's hard to say that Pickett can be the reason, but if he is, the Steelers should finally be able to end their postseason win drought. The sky is the limit for the Steelers, and if Canada and Pickett can both develop their respective abilities, this team will be a true threat that is already scaring teams like the San Francisco 49ers.

What do you think about Mueller's comments, Kenny Pickett's development, and the pressure that Matt Canada has? Let us know down in the comments.

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