Steelers CB Levi Wallace explains what makes Kenny Pickett special

Kenny Pickett enters the 2023 NFL season with a chip on his shoulder after leading the Pittsburgh Steelers to a nine-win season last year during his rookie campaign.

Pickett looks to improve on that in Pittsburgh this season, and it seems that his teammates are fully behind the second-year quarterback after Steelers defensive back Levi Wallace sung Pickett’s praises during a recent media apperance.

“Me and him sit next to each other in team meetings. Front row. I’ve seen him come in and just be hungry,” Wallace said, via Good Morning Football. “He wants to learn the game. Obviously, there’s a transition period when you come into the league.

“But that first week in Buffalo — I’m trying to get home and get some rest. But he wants to say and watch film and ask questions about Buffalo’s defense. He wants to win. [Pickett] reminds me a lot of Josh [Allen] in the way that he’s a competitor, the way he prepares. He just always wants to do it right. … It’s fun going against a guy like that. It makes all of us better.”

As the Steelers’ primary quarterback, Pickett was able to help lead his team to a 9-8 season during his rookie year. He threw for 2,404 yards but had a hard time finding the end zone, throwing seven touchdowns compared to nine interceptions. He added an additional 237 yards and three touchdowns on the ground.

Pickett started in 13 of the Steelers’ 17 games, sitting behind Mitch Trubisky for the first four games of the season while still getting acclimated to the NFL. He would lose four of his first five starts, but ended the season on a hot streak and leading Pittsburgh to five-straight wins when he was able to play the full game.

As a rookie, Pickett was tabbed as the No. 2 deep ball-throwing quarterback in the NFL, according to Deep Ball Project. Overall, Pickett threw 40 accurate deep balls and completed 23 of them (57.5 percent). He was able to throw two touchdowns on those passes, but was interception four times on long throws. Geno Smith was the only QB higher than Pickett with a 63.5 percent completion rate.

Returning talent out wide such as George Pickens and Diontae Johnson, Pickett will also have the services of Allen Robinson, who they traded for this offseason, available as well. Factor Najee Harris on the ground, and all of a sudden the Steelers have an offense that could do some real damage in the AFC North.