Kenny Pickett is considered a major part of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ future. The young quarterback is currently in his second season. While he is navigating injuries and hasn’t played up to expectations this year, there is a chance that he could continue to be a major piece of the puzzle for one of the sport’s biggest franchises.
There is a lot to know about Kenny Pickett. He has had a fascinating career and is a unique player in the league. For those who want to know more about this potential future star, let’s do a breakdown of the life and career of Kenny Pickett.
Height and Weight
Kenny Pickett stands at the height of 1.9 metres and weighs 100 kilograms.
Age
Kenny Pickett is 25 years old.
Family and Place of Birth
Kenny Pickett was born in Ocean Township, New Jersey. His father is named Ken Pickett, and his mother is named Kasey Pickett. Ken is a former football player who played at Shippensburg University as a linebacker. He is currently a businessman. Kasey Pickett played soccer in university, so Kenny comes from an athletic family. They both are often attendees of the Pittsburgh Steelers football games.
College Career
If you had bet on Kenny Pickett to be a great football player and first-round pick before college on any of the major PA sports betting sites, you would have won a lot of money. Pickett’s career has been an unexpected success. He arrived as an unheralded player at the University of Pittsburgh and blossomed into a star for the team.
Pickett spent his first year mostly being a benchwarmer. He did not get to play much at quarterback, as the team started Max Browne and Ben DiNucci over him. He appeared in four games.
In his sophomore year, things started to pick up for Pickett. He was named the starter for the team and appeared in 14 games. Pickett was solid, throwing for 12 touchdowns to just six interceptions. He led Pittsburgh to a decent record and returned for his junior year. He once again had a mediocre year, throwing for 13 touchdowns and nine interceptions. His senior year, he had a matching stat line, once again throwing for 13 touchdowns and nine interceptions. However, he showed some solid mobility, running for eight touchdowns and performing slightly better as Pitt had a strong season.
Normally, this would be the end for Pickett, but because of the pandemic, he had one more year of eligibility. This is when things really came together. In a much more open offence, Pickett was able to show off his dynamic talent. He threw 42 touchdowns to just seven interceptions and added five more touchdowns on the ground. His team was also incredibly successful, going 11-2. Pickett secured himself as a first-team All-American, the ACC Offensive Player of the Year, and the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm trophy winner.
Pickett’s great performance on the field led to him being taken by the Pittsburgh Steelers with the 20th pick in the first round. This came right after Ben Roethlisberger retired, so Pickett would have some major shoes to fill.
NFL Career
Pickett was walking into a unique situation in Pittsburgh. Their franchise quarterback had just retired, but the team retained a talented offence. Pickett was hoping to step up to the plate straight away and receive a lot of opportunity. However, that did not go as expected. The team brought in Mitch Trubisky, and he earned the starting quarterback job. This was a disappointment. But Trubisky struggled to perform, and Pickett got his opportunity.
Pickett took over as a starter and had a decent rookie season. While his stats were quite bad, throwing seven touchdowns to nine interceptions, Pickett was adequate. He led the Steelers to a 7-5 record. For a rookie quarterback, this was quite good.
There were high hopes for Pickett coming into this season. Thus far, he hasn’t lived up to them. Pickett has thrown six touchdowns to four interceptions in 12 games. While the interceptions are down, this is not what fans had in mind for him. However, he has once again managed to produce wins, earning a 7-5 record.
The difficult part in evaluating Pickett comes now. He has received surgery on an ankle injury and has been out for a bit. This comes as the Steelers are in the midst of a playoff chase and are trying to determine whether he is their franchise passer. It is hard to say for sure now, but Pickett has always gotten better throughout his career.