Kurt Warner Explains Steelers QB Kenny Pickett Is Continuing To Struggle To Read Defenses

Pittsburgh Steelers second-year quarterback, Kenny Pickett has had a challenging beginning to his 2023 season. His completion percentage and quarterback rating have taken hits, with the former dropping from 63% in 13 games in 2022 to 59.7 and the latter falling from 53.6 to 33.5. He's had to face two of the most challenging defenses in the league with the San Francisco 49ers in Week 1 and the Cleveland Browns in Week 2, and had to go through the majority of five weeks without the team's top target last season, Diontae Johnson. Despite his struggles, the team is emerging from the bye week at 3-2 and still in a position to compete for the AFC North title. 

Pickett's performance down the stretch in 2022, where he helped guide the team to a 7-2 record after the Week 9 bye, combined with his impeccable preseason performance, led many to believe a big step forward was coming in 2023. Hall of Fame quarterback turned NFL Network analyst, Kurt Warner told ESPN's Brooke Pryor that recognizing coverages has been a weakness for the young signal-caller in the regular season so far in 2023 after it felt like he'd adjusted to it in the preseason. 

"[Playing quarterback] is knowing where you need to start based on what the defense is doing to you," Warner said. "And he struggled a little bit with that here early in the season, and that's going to get you in trouble. The game's fast, and you're playing against good defenses. Trying to play catch-up when you don't see things and identify things quickly leads to struggles no matter who you are."  

Warner said it's an issue that has carried over from his rookie season. He added that his problems reading defenses in 2022 were masked by his playmaking ability while on the move and the fact that the team was winning games. 

Pickett attributed his success in the 2023 preseason to playing against second team defenses. He has to take a step forward in reading the opposition's top players if he's going to take that step up that people were expecting.       

Steelers' Pickett Still Flashes Plenty Of Potential In Big Moments

Pickett has glimpses of greatness sprinkled in with his so-so outings in 2023. When Pittsburgh was trailing the Baltimore Ravens 10-8 in the fourth quarter of their Week 5 matchup, he found George Pickens twice, including on the go-ahead score, to help the Steelers prevail over their hated AFC North rival. The 25-year-old had his first multi-touchdown pass game against the Las Vegas Raiders that included a 72-yard throw to speedster receiver Calvin Austin III. 

Warner said it's those big moments that keep him intrigued with the University of Pittsburgh alumni's potential. He said that from an organizational perspective, the Steelers brass has now seen him have a preseason where he drove down the field on every drive, but needs to find a way to get Pickett doing those things more consistently during real games that matter. It's a conundrum that Head Coach Mike Tomlin said he thinks about a lot. For the former St. Louis Rams and Arizona Cardinals quarterback, Pickett has sufficiently put enough of those moments together that he still sees something in him. 

"There's enough there to see where you still stay optimistic and excited because you're winning games, you're having success, you're seeing those intangibles," Warner told Pryor. "You've got all this stuff to build off of ... we've seen him do it at times, so he keeps us excited and believing that it's in there, that he's capable of that stuff. We just need to figure out how to get it out of him."

It will be up to Pickett to put in the work to better understand defenses, but it's also on the coaching staff, particularly Offensive Coordinator Matt Canada, to help him to truly show he's taking a step.   

Do you agree with Warner that Pickett seems to be struggling with reading defenses? Do you think he's shown enough to be a starting quarterback in the NFL? Comment below!

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