Kenny Pickett enjoying another terrific preseason as Steelers keep it basic

Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett has played perfectly this preseason. Get this — he’s thrown as many incompletions (two) as touchdowns.

And as he starts his second year in the NFL, Pickett and receiver George Pickens share especially electric, on-field chemistry. No wonder the Steel City is giddy for Pickett, Pickens and the rest of the Steelers.

“I am not going to lie, it’s been good,” Pickett told reporters on Monday. “We have been keeping (the offense) basic, but we just want to keep executing the offense at the level we are. We just want to continue to do that until we get the full playbook. We have been very vanilla, and we are going to do that until it is time to go. We understand it is just the preseason.”

The Steelers don’t need anything exotic in the preseason. No team does. Coach Mike Tomlin is allowing his young quarterback some first-quarter reps. In two games, the first-team offense scored touchdowns on all three of its possessions. If you’re Tomlin, that’s exactly what you want to see.

In his two appearances, Pickett completed nine of his 11 passes for 113 yards and two touchdowns. And like we said, he’s 3-3 on touchdown drives.

Kenny Pickett says Steelers stay motivated because ‘we haven’t done anything yet’

Now, everyone knows to put an asterisk next to the stats. It’s preseason. None of it counts. You can use the stats and the tape to decide on some issues, namely who goes where on the depth chart. And Pickett’s confidence can grow from seeing success on the field. But the quarterback also is telling folks to chill.

“It is preseason, man,” Kenny Pickett said. “Nothing counts, so it is kind of easy to remain motivated because we haven’t done anything yet. Everybody understands that.”

That’s the bottom line. The Steelers missed the playoffs last year in their first season post-Ben Roethlisberger. Pittsburgh began the season 2-6, but flipped things around and finished at 9-8. The Steelers managed to pull themselves back into the playoff hunt. However, they lost a wildcard berth in a tiebreaker to the Dolphins.

Coincidentally, Kenny Pickett was good last August, too. The 2022 first-rounder secured a second-team spot on the depth chart. He was the starter by the fifth game and posted a 7-2 record down the stretch.

The Steelers finish the preseason schedule with a road date against Atlanta, Thursday night. They start the regular season with a tough assignment, hosting the 49ers at Acrisure Stadium. It’ll be the battle of young quarterbacks with Brock Purdy vs Kenny Pickett. Purdy also enjoyed a spectacular rookie season, as he led San Francisco to the NFC title game.

By then, no one will remember the preseason.