Behind The Scenes Details Leak About The Mistake That Set The Steelers Back Several Years

The Pittsburgh Steelers were set back as a franchise due to the results of the 2022 NFL Draft. It was the last draft that was ran by former general manager, Kevin Colbert, and Omar Khan took over the position before the start of the 2022 season. This was a pivotal draft for the Steelers as Ben Roethlisberger retired following the conclusion of the 2021 season, and the organization had done nothing before his retirement to put some sort of succession plan in place for when the team needed a new starter, outside of drafting Mason Rudolph in 2018.

The Steelers had a priority entering the 2022 offseason, and that was to attempt to find a player or two to replace Roethlisberger. The franchise signed Mitch Trubisky in free agency, and the team also selected Kenny Pickett with the 20th overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. Trubisky started the 2022 season, but he was quickly replaced by Pickett. The rookie played okay during his first season, and there was a ton of excitement as he entered his second year in 2023. Things did not go well, and he wound up being traded during the 2024 offseason. He is considered a bust, and it is fair to say that the decision to draft him has set the franchise back.

NFL writer Aditi Kinkhabwala joined 93.7 The Fan on Wednesday and she discussed Pickett, diving into why the organization decided to draft him in the first place. She also spoke about what exactly went wrong during his time with the organization.

"I was just talking to someone who used to work with the Steelers, and he said to me, 'Well, they didn't wanna make the same mistake that they made with [Dan] Marino,'" Kinkhabwala said. "He wasn't set up to succeed. What was going on in the building was not going to allow for pretty much any quarterback to succeed with what the offensive coordinator situation was. With the way the wide receivers were. With what the offensive line was."

Attempting to select an organization's next franchise quarterback in the first round of a draft is a hard task, and it is something that can set a franchise back a few seasons. That is what happened with Pickett and the Steelers. He was seen as the best prospect in a weak quarterback class, and he really had no business being a first-round pick.

Kinkhabwala mentioned that someone who used to work for the organization explained that the franchise did not want to make the same mistake it made with Dan Marino when he was coming out of college. He attended Pittsburgh, just like Pickett, but the Steelers passed on him in the 1983 NFL Draft. The rest is history as he went on to be one of the best quarterbacks in the history of the game for the Miami Dolphins. That was a move that has haunted Pittsburgh for a while, and the organization was worried Pickett could be the next version of that.

Pickett obviously struggled, and he is already on his fifth team. He will be the backup for the Carolina Panthers in 2026, but Bryce Young has been shaky and inconsistent, which could lead to another chance for Pickett to start.

Steelers Are Certainly Partially Responsible For Kenny Pickett's Shortcomings

Pickett could have played better and acted differently during his time with the Steelers, but things not working out between the two sides is not entirely on him. Pittsburgh had the clear and obvious worst offensive coordinator in the NFL during his two seasons with the franchise in Matt Canada. The Steelers' offense ranked toward the bottom of the league during those two years in several major offensive categories. Who knows how Pickett would've turned out under different direction. 

What do you think about these comments? Let me know on X, @brogannoey!

#SteelerNation