“It would be an upset if he’s not” - Mike Florio thinks Kenny Pickett is primed to start in Week 1 for Steelers

Kenny Pickett is set to become the starting quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers when Week 1 of the 2022 NFL season starts, according to Mike Florio.

On a recent edition of the NBC Sports show Pro Football Talk, Florio said it would be a surprise if the quarterback doesn't start under center for the Steelers to start the 2022 season.

“Something we said in recent years and it was underscored when the Browns traded for Deshaun Watson. If the Steelers don't get their act together, they are going to be left in the dust in the AFC North. With Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow, and Deshaun Watson left in the dust. So, look, we don't know what Pickett’s gonna be. But all due respect, they're in better shape with Kenny Pickett moving forward than any of the other options that they had on the roster. Period. It's just a fact."

Florio concluded his point by saying that the Steelers wouldn't draft the quarterback if they didn't feel he was ready to start Week 1.

"They wouldn't have drafted Kenny Pickett if they didn't think that he was ready to step right in and start from day one. And I think it would be an upset if he's not the week 1 starter.”

The quarterback was drafted in the first round by the Steelers in this year’s NFL draft out of the University of Pittsburgh. In the 2021 season, the senior signal-caller was fourth in all of college football with 42 touchdown passes and sixth with 4,319 passing yards.

He was both the ACC Offensive Player of the Year and the Player of the Year that season. The quarterback was also third in the Heisman Trophy voting in 2021.

Kenny Pickett and other quarterbacks on the Steelers roster

With the addition of their first-round pick, Pittsburgh have four quarterbacks on their roster. They signed quarterback Mitchell Trubisky for a two-year, $14,285,000 contract this offseason.

Trubisky played last season with the Buffalo Bills as Josh Allen’s backup. He spent the first four seasons of his career with the team that drafted him second overall in the 2017 NFL Draft: the Chicago Bears.

The Steelers have quarterback Mason Rudolph, who has started 10 games in his three seasons with the team. He has thrown for 2,366 yards, 16 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions in his time with Pittsburgh. Lastly, the team drafted Chris Oladukon in the seventh round of this year’s draft out of North Dakota State.

All in all, it might come down to Trubisky and Pickett for the starting job for the Steelers and we’ll see who’ll be the next starting quarterback for the Steelers for the 2022 season.