Steelers' Kenny Pickett Gets Huge Praise From 2-Time Super Bowl Winning Quarterback Phil Simms

During his rookie season in 2022, the Pittsburgh Steelers observed two distinct versions of Kenny Pickett. In the first half of his debut campaign, after being thrown in during the second half against the New York Jets, he appeared like a rookie who was still getting to grips with the professional game. However, after the bye week, he appeared much more at ease and started to demonstrate the potential to develop into a good quarterback in the NFL.

Pickett carried the momentum from his strong finish in 2022 and work in the offseason into the 2023 preseason and looked very sharp. He threw just two incompletions while leading the offense to five touchdown drives in the five possessions he was on the field. 

Two-time Super Bowl champion with the New York Giants, Phil Simms, has been a fixture on CBS' football coverage for decades. He said during a CBS conference call via the Santa Cruz Sentinel that he doesn't care if it's preseason. He is seeing great things from Pickett so far in 2023, after being impressed with the New Jersey native's play in 2022. 

"His movement, his confidence in himself, the offense, I love what they were doing," he said. "His decision-making has been terrific."

Simms added that he expects the Pittsburgh offense to add to the good things they were doing in the stretch run, where they almost managed to squeak into the playoffs after starting 2-6. He said he expects the Steelers to be "pretty tough" to start the 2023 season. 

Pickett's Mobility For Steelers Has Flown Under The Radar

Former Steelers legendary quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said he was very impressed with Pickett's mobility. He described it as more than just "escapability" as he said he saw Pickett be able to run away from defensive players. 

Pickett ran the ball a fair bit in college at the University of Pittsburgh. One of his defining plays at the collegiate level was in the 2021 ACC Championship when he took off for a 58-yard touchdown against Wake Forest and faked a slide that got the NCAA to make a rule against it. He wasn't a particularly impressive runner based on the statistics in his career at Pitt, however. In his five years, he rushed for 809 yards on 416 attempts while adding 20 touchdowns. In his lone NFL season, he had 237 yards on 55 carries and three scores.    

Simms also commented on Pickett's ability to move around and how it has been overlooked. 

"I think the other thing that goes unnoticed about him is he can move around to throw the ball," he said. "And he picks up runs when he has to too."

Just because he has that ability to escape the pocket and go for a run, it doesn't mean the Steelers and Offensive Coordinator Matt Canada will be designing the offense to get him on the run like Lamar Jackson or Kyler Murray. He's a threat in the running game when he breaks out of the pocket, but is not nearly as dynamic as some of the running quarterbacks in the game right now. 

As Simms notes, Pickett does a good job moving around to extend plays to find open receivers. Perhaps the greatest example of this ability came in Week 17 on New Year's night against the Baltimore Ravens when Pickett evaded a rusher and calmly found running back Najee Harris to complete the 16-13 comeback win.  

Pickett's star is certainly on the rise as he was named one of the top young stars at the position by a former NFL general manager. He has the tools to succeed and they will be put to the test immediately in 2023 as Pittsburgh takes on the top-ranked defense from 2022 in the San Francisco 49ers in Week 1.