PITTSBURGH — When the Steelers named their captains for the 2023 season, Kenny Pickett came in as the lone offensive captain. Najee Harris and Mitch Trubisky were the two captains last year, and neither were selected this year. However, it showcased that Pickett trusts the Steelers locker room.
Mike Tomlin spoke upon that belief the locker room has in Pickett. In his second season, the young quarterback has garnered the trust and friendship of everyone in the locker room. So, while no other team captain was named offensively, that speaks to the belief the locker room has in Pickett.
“I think him being the lone captain on offense is no disrespect to the leadership of others but probably more reflection of everyone’s feel of his growth and development,” Tomlin said. “Not only as a player but as a leader within this collective. I think the votes reflected that on more than one side and the team’s view of him and his growth and development.”
Yesterday, Cam Heyward gave a ringing endorsement on what Kenny Pickett brings to the table as a leader. A young leader has to show his qualities before people believe in him. But that is what Pickett has done over the last year with the Steelers. Now, the team views him as a captain and the offense’s leader.
That seemed evident when veterans such as Heyward spoke of Pickett when asked. His offensive line is a ride-or-die group for him, and his game’s off-field element goes smoothly. Coming out of Pitt in the 2022 NFL Draft, his intangibles were one skill the Steelers could rely upon.
“Kenny is just a kid who continues to work his tail off,” Heyward said. “Whether it’s offseason, in season, communication, he has grown leaps and bounds from last year. With that there is a leadership role. Whether that’s challenging guys on the field, holding guys accountable, working on your communication, having the dialogue back and forth with your guys. That is what a leader should be.”
On the offensive side of the football, Dan Moore Jr. talked about how Pickett commands that unit. Sometimes, a magnetism about guys, specifically at the quarterback position, allows those guys to galvanize a room around them. Pickett maintains those qualities, and Moore is not inherently sure what drives the room to follow him and wants to run through a brick wall with those guys. The Steelers have that at quarterback.
“The way he approaches each day, the way he grasps the offense, he really has a voice. I talk to a lot of guys about it. Kenny has ‘it.’ I don’t know what that ‘it’ is, but he has it,” Moore said.
Pickett now has to take the off-field and pair it with the on-field, but there is little doubt that the team has his back. Every single day the Steelers take the field, Pickett looks like the natural leader of that unit. That’s how a quarterback should look at any time.