Everyone's opinion on Pittsburgh Steelers first round selection Kenny Pickett is different it seems. But more and more the opinion of Pickett has been pushing to the positive side. The fact that Pickett landed in Pittsburgh where some believe it's a perfect fit could be the cause for some of these opinions changing.
Recently on the Chris Simms Unbuttoned Podcast on NBC Sports, host Chris Simms was posed the question:
Who's going to be Mac Jones, the quarterback who steps up and kind of quiets the critics right away?
Jones of course was the fifth quarterback taken in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft behind several high profile names like Trevor Lawrence, and Justin Fields. Jones made the Pro Bowl as an alternate while the rest of the quarterbacks drafted ahead of him struggled.
Questions of whether Jones could make it in the NFL because of his body shape dropped his stock down. He ended up in the perfect fit in New England. While Pickett was the first quarterback selected, many believe he would've been a third rounder in a draft like 2021. He wasn't knocked down because of the same factors as Jones, but because of his small hands. Now think about that. It sounds as dumb as not selecting Jones because he didn't have six pack abs.
Pickett joins a Steelers team that wasn't 1-16 last year, but instead a team that slipped into the playoffs even with questionable quarterback play. He's going to be surrounded by talent on offense like Najee Harris, Pat Freiermuth, Diontae Johnson, Chase Claypool, George Pickens, and Calvin Austin III to name few. When you're the first overall pick, you're usually surrounded by little talent and the pressure is all on your shoulders. That won't be the case for Pickett.
Now after taking in everything that Pickett is going to have with the Steelers, Simms seems to believe that Pickett can be the one to silence doubters like Jones did this past season:
"So I'm going with Pickett. First off, Pickett has some Mac Jones qualities. Right? And I think maybe I'm wrong about him. I've been one that has sat here and gone 'I'm not sure about the high end talent like some people were doing with Mac Jones,'" Simms said. "But ultimately, I mean, I'm going to pick him because I think he's really the only guy that I can realistically sit here and say I definitely think has a chance he can get on the field Week 1. So that's why I'm going to go with him. And then yes. When he gets out in the field, does he have a chance to open up some eyes? Yes, he's well schooled like we talked about. He is polished. He ran a pro offense and did a lot of pro stuff. So he's not going to be in shock. And then he's playing in the dang stadium he's played in the last six years anyways. There's a lot of things that make him feel comfortable there."
This will all depend on if Pickett is allowed to get onto the field in 2022. While head coach Mike Tomlin has said it's going to be a fierce competition, the edge still has to lean slightly to free agent signee Mitch Trubisky. But if it's close, you might as well go with Pickett. He's going to be the face of the franchise for years to come, not Trubisky.
You can watch the whole question and segment here:
Would you prefer to see Pickett or Trubisky come Week 1 for the Steelers? Click to comment below!
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