The Pittsburgh Steelers came into the 2022 offseason with more questions than answers at quarterback. Ben Roethlisberger announced his retirement and the Steelers were preparing for a full rebuild. The first step was to draft the local hero, Kenny Pickett in the first round of the 2022 NFL draft. Actually, that was the second step because Pittsburgh also signed veteran Mitch Trubisky as an insurance policy just in case Pickett wasn’t ready.
And for a few weeks of the season, it seemed like maybe he wasn’t. Trubisky initially won the starting job but was benched in favor of the rookie after just three and a half games.
Pickett’s early career was shaky at best. In his first five games, he threw eight interceptions and only two touchdowns. Plenty of fans and writers wanted the Steelers to turn back to Trubisky.
Then things started to go right. Pittsburgh got the run game in order and Pickett continued to develop confidence and continuity with his team and the wins started to come. Then the big throws followed. Finally, the game-winning drives happened and now the NFL world is united in thinking the quarterback position is in good hands.
Pickett finished the season with 2,404 passing yards, seven passing touchdowns and nine interceptions. Pickett also had 237 rushing yards and three touchdowns on the ground. Pickett went 7-5 in his 12 starts and went 5-1 in his last six starts of the season.
Cast your vote and let us know what grade you give Pickett. For us, an A is the only correct answer here. Pickett came into his own very quickly and didn’t look like a rookie the last month and a half of the season.
