Kenny Pickett earning second-team reps with the Pittsburgh Steelers

The Pittsburgh Steelers drafted who they hope can be the long-term successor to Ben Rothlisberger this off-season, but patience is needed in his development.

Kenny Pickett was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the first round (20th overall) of this year’s draft and is viewed as a long-term solution at the quarterback position once he is up to speed with the NFL.

In the short-term, the Steelers have former Chicago Bears passer Mitchell Trubisky under center, with the one-time Pro Bowler having enough experience to be the perfect stop-gap while the team works on getting Pickett in the right place.

While he understandably began training camp working with the third team, Pickett has recently seen his reps increase as he begins to work more with the Steelers’ second team – potentially highlighting a belief in his early development already.

With pads added to practices this week, Pickett has been earning the second-highest reps of all Steelers quarterbacks, ahead of fourth-year pro Mason Rudolph.

Head coach Mike Tomlin has played down expectations of Pickett, despite his reps changing, and even suggests that this situation may not be a long-term one as the Oakhurst, New Jersey native adjusts to the tempo and quality at the professional level.

Tomlin’s approach is unsurprising, and in reality is a sensible one as he will not want expectations to become overblown on the young quarterback, with the veteran guys around them expected to hold onto the starter and backup role for the foreseeable future, at least in 2022.

Pickett can learn a lot from Trubisky, who was a high draft pick, and Rudolph, who has been with the Steelers for the past three seasons, and giving him a chance at more reps is simply a move to expose him to as much as possible early on so he truly understands what is required of an NFL quarterback.

The Steelers are more than likely going to carry three quarterbacks on their 53-man roster this season, with Trubisky under center and Rudolph the main guy holding the clipboard on the sidelines – leaving Pickett to observe both as he works to understand an NFL playbook and develop his mechanics to suit the Steelers’ system.

Pickett could make his debut for the Pittsburgh Steelers when they take on the Seattle Seahawks in pre-season action on August 13th, but this will be another indicator of how far along the rookie passer is if he is given the majority of snaps.

Patience is needed with any rookie, especially at the most important position, but giving Pickett these second-team reps will do much to help him along in his development, even if the goal is in the long-term.