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Mike Tomlin and the Pittsburgh Steelers used their first-round pick on Thursday night to draft Pittsburgh quarterback Kenny Pickett. Pittsburgh hasn't drafted a quarterback in the first-round since the 2004 NFL draft, when they selected quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who was their franchise quarterback for the last 15+ years.
The Steelers seem to have drafted Pickett as their next franchise quarterback, and Pickett could be a year-one starter.
During Saturday's coverage of the 2022 NFL draft, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin told Rich Eiesen that Pickett has a chance to be their week one starter.
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Tomlin said:
"He certainly has a chance (to be our Week 1 starter). I agree with that sentiment of his readiness from a professional perspective."
In a weak quarterback class, only Pickett was selected in the first two-rounds at the position. There were many quarterback-needy teams heading into the first-round of the draft, but only the Steelers chose to prioritize that need by selecting Pickett first out of the bunch and relatively early on.
Tomlin added that he's excited about putting Pickett in the same quarterback room as Mitchell Trubisky and Mason Rudolph.
Tomlin said:
"We thought he had pro-level anticipation. We thought he had pro-level accuracy. Often times, those are two variables that really require a lot of adjustment from a quarterbacking standpoint. We felt he came ready-made in those ways. Hopefully, that's an asset to him in terms of being able to compete and being ready, if his performance dictates it. One of the things that was very evident about Kenny being next door is he's just a ridiculous competitor, so we're just excited about putting him in the mix and watching him compete against Mitch and Mason and seeing where that leads us."
The Pittsburgh Steelers signed Mitchell Trubisky to a 2-year $14.25 million deal this off-season
When Ben Roethlisberger retired this off-season, the Steelers had to find a new quarterback or two to figure out who would be Big Ben's successor.
The Steelers made a splash in free agency and signed former first-rounder and former Bears and Bills quarterback Mitchell Trubsiky to a two-year $14.25 million deal.
When signed, it was expected that Trubisky would be their week-one starter, but now there is an open competition in Pittsburgh. While there will be a battle for the job, Trubisky has the edge to become the week-one starter.
