The Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback competition was the subject of a full segment on Friday's Arthur Moats Experience with Deke podcast. Moats hosts a regular podcast with Eric “Deke” DeKlaven, and he provides interesting insight as a former player of how players perform in practice and games. You can view the entire podcast on YouTube here and they publish a podcast virtually daily. Moats has spent time watching the Organized Team Activities (OTA’s) and came away with some interesting observations about the Steelers signal callers.
“Mason [Rudolph] is still throwing a pretty football. In terms of the consistency element of it in terms of his throwing, I think he is second behind Mitch [Trubisky]. But in context, you got to remember this is what Kenny’s [Pickett] 5th, 6th practice he has completed. So, when I’m watching them in certain elements, 'cause it’s not always 11 on 11 team stuff, they will have a lot of the practice being drill work. More specific things, so in some of these things, it’s more accuracy related, it’s more ball placement deep passing."
Moats is observing the OTA’s in person. He was a former starting linebacker for the Buffalo Bills selected in the 6th round out of James Madison. After four seasons with the Bills and 20 starts, he took his talents to Pittsburgh where he played in 62 games for the Steelers over another four seasons and started 25 games at outside linebacker. He was a solid depth piece for the black and gold and left football after the 2017 season. Moats' insight on the quarterback drills that Rudolph at this point is more consistently accurate then Pickett should not alarm fans, because this is what OTA’s are for. Pickett is a rookie. Moats continued:
“Mitch to me has been the most accurate, shown the most touch, shown the most consistency in terms of arm strength. I haven’t seen, I don’t think I’ve seen one pass from Mitch, talking about the drill portion, not the team portion, just the drill portion, where I am like, 'Oh gosh, that was a little low,' 'that was too high,' 'that was a wobbler,' 'that was a duck.' Mitch has just been consistent every single day, it looks a certain way. That comes with being a guy who has been in the league for years, it’s always going to look a certain way. That is how a veteran practices. It’s hard to beat out a vet in practice.”
Pittsburgh Steelers QB Mitch Trubisky makes a pass in OTA's (Karl Roser / Pittsburgh Steelers)
Moats is very impressed with Trubisky, his accuracy, and arm strength so far in OTA’s. Trubisky felt confident in his ability to win the starting job by signing with the Steelers this off-season. Knowing how the Steelers and Head Coach Mike Tomlin do business, I think it is a little surprising they hid from Trubisky that they might draft a quarterback. He could end up being a bridge to a talented rookie. Trubisky understands that at this point in his career, the chance to compete against a rookie and Rudolph for a team that made the playoffs last year and runs an offense that should be tailored to his strengths may be his best opportunity to become a viable long-term starting quarterback in the NFL, even if it is not in Pittsburgh. Moats continued:
“Whereas when you go to Mason, I think he is that next in line in terms of being consistent in the drill portion, not team portion where I think he is throwing that second most consistent ball. But even he’s had some throws where I’m just like, 'Oh Mason, you got to be better than that.' But then the same can be said about Kenny. With Kenny, it just happens more frequently. I think that Kenny has a pretty spiral, when he throws his spiral, he has one of the prettiest spirals out there, but it’s the consistency with it. I laugh to myself because I get when people bring up the hand part, because you can tell at times, not that it’s going to affect him where we are all going to be feeling it. But when you are watching him in a drill setting where your throwing 10 passes back-to-back, after I saw that guy throw 10 and I am looking out how their spiral comes out, the pop on their arm and just the consistency with it. Whereas with Kenny, if he threw 10, 7 of them are on the money, but then he’s gonna have three where I’m like, 'is that because of the hand size?' 'It’s kind of floppy,' 'is the ball too big for him?'”
Photo via Matt Freed / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
This is a little alarming for fans of the black and gold. Pickett’s 8.5-inch hand size was a concern before the 2022 NFL Draft, and it is precisely that attribute that allowed him to fall to the Steelers at the 20th overall pick. The concern amongst some in the fanbase where his propensity to fumble the ball in college, but he did improve every year in that area. No one had questioned his arm talent, that I am aware of, but if he is in fact having trouble gripping the football in the spring, it is something to watch closely in the preseason. This may just be a rookie early in the process adjusting to the NFL ball difference. Moats makes a point of specifying that this is just his observations of drills and that in team settings with the entire offense, he thinks Pickett is ahead of Rudolph, but Trubisky is the clear starter. He thinks Pickett is the best athlete of the three quarterbacks competing for the starter job. He did mention that Chris Oladokun is the best athlete of all the quarterbacks, but his consistency as a thrower of the football is significantly behind the other three signal callers. DeKlaven observed that it sounded like.
“I think there is a lot of good things being said about all of these guys, with Kenny looks like he’s got some leadership, Mitch is looking good because of how long he’s been in the league almost like he owns it.”
The pair made an especially salient point that it is very hard to beat out a vet in practice. Trubisky is not facing pressure and game situations are what will ultimately separate Trubisky and Pickett in the preseason. It sounds like initially; it is the best possible scenario for the Steelers. The veteran they brought in for a lower contract has the inside track and could potentially play well enough for the Steelers to contend. If he does and Pickett shows through practice and the preseason he is the future, the Steelers have an additional year to market a successful quarterback to the league for a key piece of the future puzzle.
What do you think, Steeler Nation? Any nerves about Kenny Pickett, or just the rookie adjustment period? Please comment below or on my Twitter @thebubbasq.
