Evaluators Tell NFL Insider That Kenny Pickett Can Be Fixed

Mike Tomlin declared at his season-ending press conference that Kenny Pickett will remain the Pittsburgh Steelers starting quarterback in 2024, but they will have some competition to challenge him. Tomlin simply said “yes” when asked if he believes the team’s starting quarterback for the 2024 season is on the roster currently.

For many, that decision is brought with skepticism. It could have been the Matt Canada dilemma, but Pickett hasn’t displayed potential of being a franchise quarterback in his 25 career games (24 starts). His numbers are pedestrian at best — 62.6 completion percentage, 13-13 touchdown-interception ratio, and a passer rating of 78.8. He also has just one career game with at least two touchdown passes.

With being sidelined because of an ankle injury, Pickett was essentially benched late in the season due to the upsurge of Mason Rudolph. The offense ran a lot smoother with Rudolph under center, but this was under the tutelage of co-offensive coordinator Mike Sullivan. Pickett played just one game and a half with Sullivan calling plays until he suffered an ankle injury that required a tightrope procedure. So, there’s a big unknown surrounding Pickett. Was it all Matt Canada or is Pickett just not a starting NFL quarterback? Time will tell.

Tomlin said at his season-ending press conference that 2024 will be a “huge” year for Pickett. The Steelers are clearly not giving up on Pickett, and neither have NFL talent evaluators, according to Aditi Kinkhabwala of CBS Sports.

“I messaged multiple people. If you were given the opportunity to quote-unquote fix Kenny Pickett, could you do it?” Kinkhabwala said recently during an appearance on 93.7 The Fan with Andrew Fillipponi and Chris Mueller. “All four of them talked about everything around him and not him.”

Kinkhabwala was asked to add more clarity to her statement, and she said evaluators told her that without a doubt that it was the people around Pickett that were hindering him.

“Four different offensive minds in the NFL that I trust implicitly and feel very strongly about. All four of them thought it’s not really about Kenny, it’s about everything around him,” she said.

The Steelers are trying to get Pickett on the right path, and that process starts with hiring the right offensive coordinator. A quarterback guru is what Pickett most likely needs.

The Steelers interviewed Houston Texans quarterbacks coach Jerrod Johnson for their offensive coordinator opening on Friday. Johnson, 35, is the second sitting quarterbacks coach to be connected to the Steelers offensive coordinator opening, following Los Angeles Rams quarterbacks coach and pass game coordinator Zac Robinson. Robinson is expected to take the Atlanta Falcons OC job, following Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris there.

Like Robinson, Johnson is an extremely hot commodity on the market and it’s not hard to see why teams would be gung-ho for Johnson. With the Texans, rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud came into the league and put up one of the best rookie seasons in recent memory, leading Houston to the postseason’s divisional round.

Last season, the Steelers did not have a single coach on the staff that had played quarterback professionally. With the interest in Robinson and Johnson, that could be a point of interest for their interview process this time around.