Pittsburgh Steelers QB Pickett: “I’m nowhere near where I want to be”
Rookie Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett spoke exclusively to AS and is aware that he still has to improve a lot to earn the starting job.
For the moment, Kenny Pickett is a young man of few words but plenty of demands on himself.
Pickett, the rookie quarterback everyone’s talking about in Pittsburgh, is third in the Steelers’ depth chart, and at the moment there’s no sign of the first-round pick in the 2022 Draft taking the starting job from veteran Mitchell Trubisky or the QB2 role from Mason Rudolph.
Pickett out to improve consistency
Pickett knows this and is aware that he needs to get better.
“Just consistency - I mean, it’s a new offence, a new system,” Pickett told an exclusive interview with AS. “I’m nowhere [near] where I want to be and need to be, so I’ve just got to keep showing up every day, working hard and just be more consistent.”
However, he’s not complaining about the competition, quite the opposite: he talked about the beneficial influence the three quarterbacks are having on one another.
“They’re all great guys and I think we all really help each other, pushing each other to get better. So it’s going really well,” the rookie said.
Pickett likes what he sees in his wide receivers
Whoever QB1 is at the start of the regular season will have a talented group of wide receivers to work with, led by Canadian Chase Claypool, who is trying to forget a 2021 campaign (his second in the NFL) in which he registered only 860 yards and two touchdowns.
Those numbers don't matter much to Pickett, who has complete faith in the Steelers' wide receivers.
“A lot of talent, from top to bottom. I think the veterans and also the younger guys have done a great job,” the former University of Pittsburgh QB said. “I think the youngsters we have are moving in the right direction and they’ve looked really good.”