The growth of a rookie quarterback is typically slow. Seldom is there some eureka moment where the growing pains stop.
But, if you're looking for a tangible way to measure Kenny Pickett's progress, his performance in the Steelers' Monday night win in Indianapolis might be the closest thing to a moment that you can point to and say, OK, this kid's got the potential to be a franchise quarterback.
When Mason Cole told reporters after the game that Pickett called the play in which Benny Snell scored the deciding touchdown in the fourth quarter, it got a lot of attention. It was the perfect fodder for the anti-Matt Canada crowd, and generated a narrative that a rookie quarterback can call plays better than the offensive coordinator.
In reality, we all know -- at least, we all should know -- that isn't the case. As good as Pickett was Monday (don't worry, I'll get to that), he's in no position to take over play-calling duties. And, Pickett's far from having any kind of authoritarian rule over what play to call in a critical situation.
That being said, Pickett has done enough to earn the trust of Mike Tomlin, Mike Sullivan and Canada to give feedback and not be turned away just because he's a rookie.
On Wednesday afternoon at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex, I wanted to get his perspective on how that sequence went down, and the answer he provided should tell you everything you need to know about his development:
"It was a conversation. I had an idea. We were talking about what we wanted to do, I had an idea," Pickett explained. "I felt like they were really concerned with my legs and how I was doing that throughout the game. So, I felt like if there was a zone read, we didn't block the end, and they had a guy actually on the second level that was waiting for me, too. So, I mean, we had two unblocked guys that I knew we had a pretty good play if Benny got it to the left side, and it worked well. A lot of teams were trying to throw it on them down there and they weren't too successful. Watching the film, and it looked like in a spread set, a lot of teams would have a lot more success running the football. So, adding my legs to that is something where you can occupy at least one guy. Luckily, we had two guys that were waiting for me on the read, and Benny walked in. So, it was a great play."
First, give credit where credit is due. Tomlin or any of the coaches could have rejected Pickett's choice for a play. But, they took into account what he was seeing in-game, what he remembered from film study and trusted him enough to go along with that choice.
Now, a lot of credit still goes to Pickett here. He didn't shrink in the big moment and try to be the one to save the day. Many times, the quarterback will want the ball in his hands. Not necessarily for pride, but because they trust themselves more than anyone else to come through when the team needs a play.
And, Pickett could have used that moment to plead for a passing play and be the one to come through to show everyone that he's everything the Steelers and their fans hope he is.
Instead, he remembered the best way to attack the Colts from preparation leading up to the game. Pickett also remembered the in-game trend of the Colts giving up a couple chunk plays to him on the ground. He combined all of that to come to the conclusion that a read option was the best choice in a moment where the Steelers needed a touchdown.
If the Colts didn't honor the threat of what Pickett was doing with his legs, it's an easy touchdown for him. But, the Colts took the bait and gave into exactly what Pickett wanted.
You want progress? It's personified right there in that one play.
But also, Monday night was still a really good performance by Pickett. The folks at Pro Football Focus recognized it as he finished the second-highest graded quarterback in Week 12 (88.5). He completed 20 of 28 passes for 174 yards, but two incompletions were put on George Pickens and Diontae Johnson for one drop apiece. In addition to throwing no interceptions, PFF determined that Pickett made no turnover-worthy throws in the game.
Throw that in this context: Since the Steelers' bye in Week 9, Pickett has thrown 100 consecutive passes without an interception. It's no accident that the Steelers have won two of the three games during that stretch.
Pickett's progression hasn't only been noticed by the analytics nerds either. The Falcons' head coach, Arthur Smith, sees what's coming to Atlanta this week.
“He’s a guy that’s improved week after week," Smith said Wednesday afternoon. "Obviously, Monday night they did a nice job. They came out, and they were really balanced. They were ahead. You can see a young player getting into a rhythm. He’s a talented football player."
Pickett still has room to grow. After all, he's only made seven starts in his professional career. There will still be times that can be painful to watch.
While it's difficult to take any solace in a Steelers team that's two losses away from their first losing season in 19 years, watching Pickett mature both physically and mentally could be more important than one lone season -- one that was already considered to be a year of transition.
If Pickett is for real and turns into Pittsburgh's next franchise quarterback, that makes this season worth it, regardless of where the Steelers finish in the standings.
MORE FROM THE SOUTH SIDE
• Johnson is getting a lot of criticism from fans about his lack of production this season, with the lowest of low-hanging fruit being his lack of execution when running after the catch. His dropped touchdown pass in Monday night's win didn't help matters.
However, in line with what I've been writing about for weeks on end, what Johnson is doing in the receiver room as a leader cannot be overlooked. This continued onto the sideline as Johnson was spotted giving words of encouragement to Pickens after a couple of drops in the second half.
"Just trying to be that teammate, to be there for him when he's down and out and he's worried about what he could have done in that moment," Johnson said Wednesday morning. "It's my job as a leader to step in and say, 'It's going to be alright. You're going to have situations like that. It's about how you respond. You can't let one moment define you, and take you out of your game.' I just told him I've been there before. You've just gotta lock in and let it go. The best thing you can do is move on from it and learn from it."
No, sideline leadership doesn't make up for the lack of production. But, there is absolutely an important place for it, and having a high-paid receiver thinking about the team ahead of himself sure is a welcome change from four years ago.
• Pickens shared his side of the conversations with Johnson and Pickett on the sideline in a very succinct manner.
"I was just getting frustrated," Pickens said. "I never want to be the reason we lost."
• The Steelers were quite awful in kick coverage against the Colts, highlighted most by an 89-yard return that gave Indianapolis a much needed shot in the arm coming out of halftime.
Mike Tomlin stressed the importance of cleaning that up against the Falcons as Cordarrelle Patterson poses a very big threat in that facet of the game this Sunday. In our availability with Arthur Smith on Wednesday, I asked about his team trying to capitalize on this.
"Well, we have to block as well as Indy did. We didn't block very well in the return game last week. Washington really got after us. That's week to week. We had the big play against Chicago. Last week we had some return opportunities, and we didn't look too hot," Smith said. "But, I know this. I worked with Danny Smith, and I know he'll have those guys ready to roll. We have to make sure, if we do get the opportunity, that we block better than we did a week ago."
• Not only because Tomlin expressed it as an immediate area to improve, but I've watched Danny Smith run special teams drills in practice. I'll be shocked if we see the same lapses against the Falcons.
• In a very minor move Tuesday, the Steelers signed defensive tackle Renell Wren to the practice squad and released wide receiver Josh Malone from the practice squad.
Wren has spent most of the 2022 season on the Steelers practice squad. He was released a week ago when the team signed running back Master Teague III and wide receiver Ja'Marcus Bradley.
• On the injury front, Najee Harris (listed with an oblique) and Ahkello Witherspoon (hamstring) did not practice Wednesday. Jaylen Warren and Miles Boykin (oblique) were full participants. Minkah Fitzpatrick (ribs), Robert Spillane (back), Myles Jack (knee), Mason Cole (foot), T.J. Watt (ribs) and Larry Ogunjobi (toe) were all limited participants.
Alex Stumpf has a separate piece on Warren's return to practice.
• Though he didn't practice Wednesday, Harris' abdominal injury isn't thought to be serious. His status for Sunday is still very much in the air, but the initial feeling on the South Side is Harris won't be out for any significant amount of time.
• For those getting ready for the NFL Draft, Penn State cornerback Joey Porter Jr. officially declared for the draft Wednesday. The Steelers need help at cornerback. Let the speculation begin.
