To Pickett or not to Pickett. That is the question.

[Joel Buchsbaum]

For the moment forget the fact that Pickett is a relatively cheap player on the NFL salary cap. He is. That is not the question. We can add players around him. Is he what you need to win in the playoffs at QB, or is his upside at best a Kirk Cousins or Dak Prescott type of player? Or is he a game manager ( the good ones or the bad ) type of QB that you can win games with IF the defense gives the team + turnovers AND the team adequately runs the ball keeping the QB out of many 3rd down and longs. Pickett IMO has not shown any signs of being a QB who you want to keep.

I could be wrong and Pickett shows tremendous growth in his second season ( the odds are against that heavily just look at the NFL draft and ask yourself did Burrow, Alllen, Hurts, Mahomes, Herbert , and Lawrence show you more in their first 12 games starting ) . Those are the QB you want to keep and offer a new 2nd contract to. He just does not have the arm strength ( velocity and MPH ), qb smarts, accuracy, of an NFL starting QB that is needed to become a top ten QB in the NFL. The 6, 7, 8, and 9 routes I question. The Qb. The most important position. His long term durability is a big question mark as he missed games too.

I think the Steelers would be wise to cut Trubisky and draft a quarterback! Saving $8,00,000.00 on the cap and signing a cheap veteran. We should draft a qb this year, not in round one mind you, but after that in 2023. So what should we do?

By my judgment either the senior bowl MVP Jake Haener who passed for lots yards, showed good accuracy ( 72% ), enough of an arm, good ball security ( just three interceptions ) and attractive YPC ( 9.0 ) to become a good game manger type of QB. He was the senior bowl MVP and showed well in practices. His data and play in the week of the senior bowl exceed Pickett's. The game features about 100 players who will be drafted and is a good measure for NFL success as any.

OR

Stenson Bennett who ripped it up and the combine showing good speed, elite arm MHP, and quickness . He can zip the 6,7,8, and 9 routes. In College he tore it up completing 68.1% of his passes, averaging an impressive 9.1 yard per pass, and only throwing 7 picks is the SEC, and 21 TD's. He can run for first downs too and scored 10 touchdowns rushing. He is 26-1 in his games as a starter. These numbers and competition played are superior to Pickett who only played well in his 4th season as a starter in college. Bennett is incredibly difficult to sack with just nine sacks against in 2022 and 2021 and bye my eyes has a quick release. He is tough too and durable too. He is built better than his weight suggests. You can build a game around him.

How smart are they? Better than Pickett is my guess who couldn't even audible out of plays last year and scored poorly on the NFL Wonderlic ( scored a 17 ) . Both players should be able to read an NFL defense better than Pickett. Much better. QB smarts count.

Now Bennett's character and maturity levels are in question, but I don't think his football character is an issue as Kirby Smart and his teammates like him.

I would be happy if we get Bennett in the third round or Haener in the 4thround.

Be my grade Bennett has moved up to a 2nd round talent and his the # 's and post season work out suggest that.

[Oviedo]

Pickett is still in the "prove it" phase of his career, but he showed enough improvement last year to have optimism

I'm definitely not wasting draft capital after one season to replace him based on what some other QB did at the combine , unless I'm drafting someone like Caleb Williams

[Northern_Blitz]

I didn't read all of the post

Well learn what we need to know about Kenny in the next few seasons. No choice but to wait

[Joel Buchsbaum]

I didn't read all of the post

Well learn what we need to know about Kenny in the next few seasons. No choice but to wait

If like to read about QB comparisons and enjoyed using data in projections with my own little touch on scouting, you should. It is one of my better posts and I put some work into it.

[Joel Buchsbaum]

Pickett is still in the "prove it" phase of his career, but he showed enough improvement last year to have optimism

I'm definitely not wasting draft capital after one season to replace him based on what some other QB did at the combine , unless I'm drafting someone like Caleb Williams

What type of player do you think he will become. As good as say Dak Prescott or Kirk Cousins? Or an elite type of talent? Or worse that that, which the data and odds suggest? We are NOT going to be in position to draft Caleb Willams! That man is trending like a top 10 pick in 2024.

[Northern_Blitz]

If like to read about QB comparisons and enjoyed using data in projections with my own little touch on scouting, you should. It is one of my better posts and I put some work into it.

I agree with you that we should cut Mitch.

And I'm not against churning QBs.

But I think it's not a good idea to churn QBs after one year. Have to wait at least 3 seasons, and probably 4 or 5.

They made the bed worth Pickett. Have to lie in it for a bit.

[Steelerphile]

As with much of what Joel says, I think he reveals that he is an overly negative and pessimistic person. I don't agree with much of his assessment of Pickett. Just like his opinion of Cam Sutton was very far off. He stated Sutton was too small, too slow, not physical, showed no better IQ than James Pierre, who he assessed to be a much better player. Cam Sutton was just signed as the top FA Corner to a 33 mil contract and I say good for Sutton, he deserved it and I always liked him and wished he could have stayed with the Steelers. and James Pierre is just another guy, really.

Joe harps on certain things arm strength, smarts and accuracy about Pickett. I think this is false on every point. Pickett has the arm strength. I think he has showed it. Not a rocket arm but a good arm. Joel just cannot see it but Picketts arm is every bit as good or better than Purdys, Bennett's or Haener's, players that he seems to covet. He has an NFL arm just in terms of strength, Prescott, Cousin's. but not elite as in Allen or Mahomes.

Too much emphasis is put into the wonderlic of 17. That is a trivia question, it is not that meaningful. The wonderlic is not a test you have to pass in order to make it to the NFL, like the bar exam or other tests that professionals have to be pass to be licensed for their profession. Therefore, I am sure people approach it differently. Some might prepare and really try to do well and others may take a much less intense approach. Ultimately it counts for nothing. Pickett demonstrated leadership in many respects. I think he definitely has smarts and is studious and hardworking about playing his position. They took his advice in plays in certain instances during the season and whether they audibled or not during this season means nothing in terms of his intelligence.

Accuracy, I think that is all wrong also. There were cases when some passes seemed to get away. The cause, unsure, his grip? molsture of the gloves? I think he is an accurate passer.
Money passes in clutch game winning situations to Harris, Pickens. He has the intangibles. So, it may take a few years but Joel will be proven as wrong about Pickett as he was about Sutton even if never admits defeat.

[Iron City Inc.]

As with much of what Joel says, I think he reveals that he is an overly negative and pessimistic person. I don't agree with much of his assessment of Pickett. Just like his opinion of Cam Sutton was very far off. He stated Sutton was too small, too slow, not physical, showed no better IQ than James Pierre, who he assessed to be a much better player. Cam Sutton was just signed as the top FA Corner to a 33 mil contract and I say good for Sutton, he deserved it and I always liked him and wished he could have stayed with the Steelers. and James Pierre is just another guy, really.

Joe harps on certain things arm strength, smarts and accuracy about Pickett. I think this is false on every point. Pickett has the arm strength. I think he has showed it. Not a rocket arm but a good arm. Joel just cannot see it but Picketts arm is every bit as good or better than Purdys, Bennett's or Haeg's, players that he seems to covet. He has an NFL arm just in terms of strength, Prescott, Cousin's. but not elite as in Allen or Mahommes.

Too much emphasis is put into the wonderlic of 17. That is a trivia question, it is not that meaningful. The wonderlic is not a test you have to pass in order to make it to the NFL, like the bar exam or other tests that professionals have to be pass to be licensed for their profession. Therefore, I am sure people approach it differently. Some might prepare and really try to do well and others may take a much less intense approach. Ultimately it counts for nothing. Pickett demonstrated leadership in many respects. I think he definitely has smarts and is studious and hardworking about playing his position. They took his advice in plays in certain instances during the season and whether they audibled or not during this season means nothing in terms of his intelligence.

Accuracy, I think that is all wrong also. There were cases when some passes seemed to get away. The cause, unsure, his grip? molsture of the gloves? I think he is an accurate passer.
Money passes in clutch game winning situations to Harris, Pickens. He has the intangibles. So, it may take a few years but Joel will be proven as wrong about Pickett as he was about Sutton even if never admits defeat.

I agree Joel imho is not good at evaluating talent. That's okay he's not a pro scout for the Steelers. He's entitled to his opinion on KP and we all should respect that. Qb's are tough to evaluate for me. However we saw with our own eyes a different KP8 at the end of the year then early on.
That can't be denied as the turnover #'s dropped. Why? The answer is the footwork improved. With that he got through his progressions quickly. He was getting to read 4 at year end. That fact is a really good trait. Does that make him Marino? No. But it allows for better decisions and that is an excellent trait to build upon going into year 2.
Regarding Trubisky I'm with Joel on not having him on the roster. Would like to move him on draft day even for a day 3 pick. We need draft capital badly. Pick up a cheap vet or draft a qb in 7th or sign a rook after the draft. If KP goes down we are not lifting the Lombardi with MT. Standard is the standard.

[Steel Maniac]

I love all these time based predictions/forecast.

[NorthCoast]

Said he likes using data in his analysis but then the only data on KP was his Wonderlic which is a very bad predictor. Mahomes and Favre scored 24 and 22 respectively. Hasselback a 29.

KP played like a rookie. He was excellent in short yardage, needs work mid range and RZ. I like what I saw as the season progressed. He was much better at keeping his eyes downfield. A lot of what he did I think was highly controlled by Tomlin/Canada, which I don't fault them on. Hopefully they open another chapter or two in the playbook.

As others have noted regardless of how any of us feel about KP, he's here for at least as long as Tomlin is around on his current contract.