Steelers Get Kenny Pickett in NFL.com Mock Draft

University of Pittsburgh quarterback Kenny Pickett is projected to go the the Pittsburgh Steelers in Charles Davis’s first mock draft for NFL.com. David also named Cincinnati quarterback Desmond Ridder as a potential sleeper pick.

It’s a quarterback, a quarterback or a quarterback according to most of the latest mock drafts across the league. The Steelers have been projected to draft Pickett, Ridder, Liberty’s Malik Willis or North Carolina’s Sam Howell by numerous outlets with Ole Miss’s Matt Corral as the current betting favorite according to Vegas.

And given the Steelers’ recent scouting focus, a quarterback is clearly on their mind. Still, the class is weak and any of the quarterbacks can go literally anywhere. This mock draft has Willis being selected sixth overall while one on ESPN had Pickett selected there by the Carolina Panthers and Willis falling to the Steelers. 

One mock draft had the Steelers trading significant draft capital to move up and select Willis while another had no quarterback being selected in the entire first round.

It’s not if the Steelers will select a quarterback, but when and who. While it’s been accepted by the media that the Steelers will take a quarterback, there’s no accepted top quarterback in the draft class to reach for nor is it even accepted if one is good enough to be a first round pick. Although, a strong consensus in mock drafts have Willis as the top quarterback with him and Pickett typically going in the first round.

Regardless, all indications are pointing towards the Steelers taking a quarterback in either of the top two rounds when the draft starts on April 28th with Willis and Pickett looking like the team’s preferred choices. Ridder has also been moving up lately after a strong pro day while Howell moved down after an inconsistent 2021 season.