Steelers got cute with Kenny Pickett draft pick, now paying the price
The Pittsburgh Steelers made a horrid mistake using a first-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft to take a third-round prospect in Kenny Pickett, and now they are paying the price. This was a goofy, typical Pittsburgh Steelers move. This franchise has a tendency for the feel good, hometown-y story.
They signed TJ Watt's brother, Derek Watt, for some reason. He spent the 2020-2022 seasons with the Steelers and amassed all of two touchdowns. I get that he's a fullback who was signed to help the blocking out, but did the team really need to sign Derek Watt? In 2022, they drafted Connor Heyward, the younger brother of Cam Heyward.
The former Heyward is in his second year with the team and has caught 17 passes this year for 137 yards in 10 games. They also took a massive TE in Darnell Washington in 2023. At this point, Connor Heyward is the third-string TE and doesn't really provide much to the roster. They also decided to take Joey Porter Jr, the son of Steelers' legend Joey Porter in the 2023 NFL Draft.
This does seem to be a good pick, but fellow defensive backs JuJu Brents and Brian Branch went after Porter and are both having stronger seasons than The junior Porter. Perhaps the Pittsburgh Steelers felt like the feel-good story of drafting Joey Porter's son was the better move here. And perhaps the worst move of all, the team also took Kenny Pickett in the first-round of the 2022 NFL Draft.
Well, the 2022 QB class was largely viewed as a very weak one. The next QB taken after Pickett was Desmond Ridder, who the Atlanta Falcons took in the third round. As we know, Kenny Pickett went to Pitt, and when you look at the QB as a prospect, there really wasn't a lot to like.
He's of adequate size, but doesn't do anything that well. The arm talent is fine. The accuracy and mobility are fine. What made Pickett so special to warrant him being taken in the first round? Well, I think the answer is nothing, and I'll take it step further in saying that the Pittsburgh Steelers just wanted to continue their weird trend of wanting the feel-good story instead of what's best for their football team.