Did the Pittsburgh Steelers set Kenny Pickett up to fail?
The question remains a hot topic of conversation between those who have watched the team over the last three years, and one NFL analyst is hammering his answer home ahead of the 2024 campaign.
When Pickett was drafted in the first round, the expectation was that he’d sit behind Mitch Trubisky and compete for a starting spot in year two.
That didn’t happen, as Trubisky was pulled in just Week 4 of Pickett’s rookie season.
From there, Pickett operated an offense under a coordinator that made Steelers history in the wrong way – being fired midseason for the first time under Mike Tomlin’s reign.
From there, Pickett finished his second season with his running backs and quarterbacks coach operating as co-offensive coordinators. Eventually, Mason Rudolph claimed the starting gig.
NFL analyst Warren Sharp believes it was all the pieces to the puzzle that set Pickett up for failure in Pittsburgh.
“If you draft a QB in the first round, and then feed him to the wolves that are Matt Canada’s play calls as a rookie, and then don’t realize Canada sucks and keep him in 2023, guaranteeing another offseason without good offensive tutelage, and then fire Canada midseason, but replace him with a tandem of two coaches who have never called plays in the NFL before, what are you expecting that you’ll get?