Tomlin sets us back another 5 years... Pickett over Willis

I dont know the first thing about evaluating college QB’s so not going to offer an opinion except to say I’m excited to see what Kenny Pickett can do. The Steelers will be very familiar with him and there is no way they’d have selected him at 20 if they didn’t believe he could be the future. Not going to rush to judgement until I see him get a chance on the field

The beauty of signing trubisky is that there will be no pressure to get pickett in week 1, they can let him sit for a while. I have heard analysts compare him to Matt Ryan, if he can reach that level I think it’s a great pick at #20. Time will tell

 

I can't quote everyone so to address the major replies....

1) Tomlin pick? It would be extremely selfish of Colbert to override that pick knowing he's out the door and won't be here for the outcome. Both QBs are there. Coach gets his pick.

2) Yes, Willis would be a project but that's exactly why we have Mitch. If Willis finds the right situation I can see him having a way better career than Pickett.

3) Pickett? He's a 5th year senior that played in the ACC during a pandemic. Level of play is way down imo. Kids losing focus etc. All he did was run around. His arm isn't impressive. He reminds me of Baker Mayfield with a weaker arm. We all saw how Baker panned out in this league.

Tell me who was more impressive Baker Mayfield in 2017 or Pickett in 2021?

 

I assume this means you'll be boycotting? Again?

 

We still need Trubisky. It's a luxury to have a quality back-up and we've got one. We took the best QB off the board. Is this a weak QB draft? Perhaps. But strong QB drafts come around once a decade. And hopefully the Steelers won't have a top 5 pick where they can get a can't miss QB in future drafts. We'll be winning too many games to get that type of pick, even with Trubisky at QB.

 

I just don't see any of the QBs in this draft as 1st rounders. If you are going to draft a QB, it seems like Pickett is the best option. But not enough upside over what is already on the roster to warrant spending 1st round draft capital. Especially when there are other needs and way better options available for players at their positions, namely Linderbaum at C, Hill at S, Elam at CB, walker at LB. I didn't see enough of a benefit to take a QB in this draft regardless of who they picked. I'll support Pickett and hope for the best just like I'm hoping the change of scenery, coaching, and scheme will help Mitch live up to his potential.

 

Ha what a ride it's been. Funny stuff. Sure i left some out.
Steelers are getting
Rodgers
Wilson
Watson
Mariota
Trading everything to move up in draft to get
Willis
Ridder
Pickett
Corral
Howell
Strong.
Glad they picked one with out moving up in Rd1. Who knows who would have been available w/o moving in Rd2.
Who says they don't grab another in Rd 2 today? ( head explodes) draft and trade capital for the future.
Hope the best for Pickett. I like the the fact that we actually might have a legit backup be it Mitchell or Kenny since Batch.

 

I would slightly disagree with you, when you have bum QB's on your current roster and you have a chance to grab the #1 rated QB in a draft class, you best do it. I like Pickett at 20, truth told. I 1000% agree with spending that kind of money on TriBUMski...WTF are we doing? Not sure what some Steelers fans have seen on film, but I'm not convinced TriBUMski is going to beat out Rudolph Reindeer for the #2 job.

#firetomlin

 

I heard James Harrison liked the Pickett pick at 20.... so this has to irk SDOT.

 

Depends on how well Pickett plays during preseason. There's no need to rush Pickett in as a starter since Trubisky is ready to go. I have a feeling that Pickett will be #3 for a while behind Trubisky and Rudolph... if Rudolph isn't traded. Ben was #3 until Batch got hurt. IIRC, Steelers only had 2 QBs at the start of '04 season... Maddox and Roethlisberger. Batch got hurt in the offseason.

 

Agreed. Haven't seen him post much lately and BOOM there he is

 

Hasselbeck is a good analyst and I generally like his takes. I'm pretty skeptical about this one though. Steelers haven't done a great job drafting QBs in the Colbert era with the lone exception being Ben. The other QBs drafted by Colbert did not exactly inspire confidence in his evaluation of QB talent and scheme fit:
2000 - Tee Martin
2003 - Brian St Pierre
2004 - Big Ben
2006 - Omar Jacobs
2008 - Dennis Dixon
2013 - Landry Jones
2017 - Josh Dobbs
2018 - Mason Rudolph
2022 - Kenny Pickett

Granted, most of these guys were drafted in rounds 3-5. However, none of them turned into starters here or anywhere else for that matter. This also doesn't take into account all the other QBs who got signed in FA and never amounted to much even as backups outside of Batch and Leftwich.

 

I see Pickett over Rudolph and if Kenny does it right, hell, Pickett could be the starter. We had nothing behind Ben and Mason was here which is why i think he will be gone if he is the 3rd qb. I won't be sad.

 

I think the death of Haskins all but guaranteed they drafted a qb.

 

For one thing, five years ago we went 13-3 with TJ, Juju, Connor and Sutton as rookies. Setting us back 5 years seems quite a good thing in that sense…

 

The only reason is his arm imo. Willis has the arm and athleticism to make plays that no one else in the class can. He may not be able to read a defense pre or post snap, go through progressions, feel pressure, have solid footwork, or be accurate enough operate in an NFL offense at a D1 collegiate level, nor can he make a sound throwing motion... But he has a cannon and speed, so someone will draft him thinking in 3 years they can have another Josh Allen (assuming they roll 100 die and they all come up 6). Those 1 or 2 plays a game will cover the 10-15 horrible ones with the hopes of some team being able to work some magic and coach the kid into a stud.

His arm is super impressive. He has good speed, and can make FBS players miss. I would've liked to have seen him actually be dominant at that level to feel good about taking him, but he just wasn't. Very good, but not Lamar Jackson level of "wow". Only time will tell if the gamble on him pays off.

 

1. agree
2. That would be quite the lottery win if Willis can turn into a viable NFL QB, let alone a superstar. Its hard to project where players will end up at QB, because success has more to do with the 6 inches between your ears than athleticism or arm strength. Tons of successful kids with huge arms and loads of talent have flopped in this league.
3. Willis played in a pandemic against FBS teams... way less competition than Pickett. Can't hold that against Pickett and not anyone else. And Baker didn't turn out because of his head and mentality, not because he doesn't have a strong enough arm or not enough talent. Arm strength is overrated. Its cool that Rodgers and Mahomes can do things that others can't, but the GOAT Brady, Drew Brees, Peyton Manning (among others) have done great things in this league with average NFL arms that aren't super impressive. Win above the neck, be accurate, have the clutch gene, be a leader.... all things that are more important than having the biggest arm in the league.

 

Go back and read the scouting reports on Aaron Rodgers out of Cal..... he was a very questionable pick and compared unfavorably to 'more athletic qb's'. When I hear the phrase 'better upside'.... I think... why is that? Is it because at the moment he sucks and will take time to get to average..... but IF he reaches 100% potential then he'd be the next Vick?

We all know that the media and professional analysis of QB's is a crap shoot..... (see Ryan Leaf, or JaMarcus Russell).

I'm happy with the pick, but know that we could have gone a couple other directions had the draft rolled out differently. I think we picked the best available player for us.

 

Not sure I agree that these players were not drafted to be starters. I think the goal and expectation for any draft pick should be to make a contribution to winning games. Can't really do that if you're not on the field.

 

Its the subconcious association to Josh Allen a very erratic passer with insane physical gifts, and thinking that now any very innacurate passer is going to turn around their bad habits and bad fundamentals like Allen did. That association has got to the point where the more innacurate a highly athletic guy is, the more appealling, because theres a greater sense 'value gained' if hes coached up.

So when someone says "High ceiling", there are in a way indirectly stating that his ceiling is very high above his head. I.E. Very far from his current state of play.

I hope everyone reflects well in the fact that the winningest QB in the league, 7 time superbowl champion, runs like a giraffe on opiates, but processes the field and defenses like a neuro-surgeon.

 

because teams don’t need backups at any position and certainly not quarterbacks

 

These two basically nail it IMO regarding this upside vs what it actually takes to win

 

I don't think that is true. You certainly don't spend a first-round pick on a quarterback just because you lost your third-string guy.

 

Was it Matt or Tim? Not that I care about what either one has to say but Tim is the more annoying of the two. He still whines about how the league and refs robbed his brother of SB glory. He falls way under David Carr for annoying brother QB tandems.