Kenny Pickett expects to win during second year with Steelers

At this time last year, Kenny Pickett was in the midst of a very cluttered quarterback battle with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Now, after starting in 12 games for the team last season, he only has one goal heading into his second campaign: win.

Pickett spoke on his expectations for Pittsburgh’s offense while at training camp over the last few days. He said that he could care less about what the statistics end up looking like as long as they lead to an increase in their number in the win column.

“I mean just go out there and win,” Pickett put simply. “You can give expectations for numbers and stuff like that. But I just want to go out there and win.”

“Whatever that takes, whatever those numbers look like? That’s all I’m focused on,” said Pickett.

The Steeler’s offensive numbers were a direct correlation to what their final record was in 2022. The team finished 26th in the NFL last year in points per game with just 18.1. They scored less than 20 points in nine of their 17 games and went 3-6 in those games.

Even so, Pickett was a big reason for their late-season turnaround as a rookie. Pittsburgh won eight of their final 13 games with Pickett starting in all but one of them. In the end, that run brought them to another winning record yet just outside the playoff picture.

With him set to start from the opening kickoff, Pickett wants to get things right this time. They may have finished over .500 last season but, in his eyes, it’s still not enough as he expects more development from himself and the Pittsburgh offense heading into this season.

Mike Tomlin explains expectations for Pickett in year two

Pittsburgh has a critical year ahead of them with Kenny Pickett. Even after signing Mitch Trubisky to a two-year contract, the Steelers took Pickett in the first round of the NFL Draft. And after a few games as the backup, they handed him the keys to the car — producing mixed results.

Now, heading into year two, Mike Tomlin says the Steelers need Pickett to be “good.” At the very least, the fundamentals are something Pickett needs to lock down. More than just on the field as well, with Tomlin wanting him to fully embrace the role of being the Pittsburgh starting quarterback.

“We need him to do fundamental things well,” Tomlin said. “We need him to take care of the football. We need him to communicate. I’ll never ask him to not be himself but be his best self. Smile in the face of adversity. Understand his perspective often times is his unit’s perspective and own that component of the job.”

Tomlin believes Pickett will have time to take on more responsibility and improve heading into 2023.

“He’s in a good place to absorb some of those things,” Tomlin said. “A year ago, he was focusing on surface-level things. Assignment, responsibilities, and so forth. Now, because of his experience, he has a perspective on where we can add to his to-do list. He’s absorbing more of the responsibility that comes with being him.”