Rocio Robles
Kenny Pickett was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft with the #20 overall pick.
After the retirement of quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, it was well known that the Pittsburgh Steelers would use one of the draft picks to get someone who could fill that vacancy, and it was a given conclusion that they would do so in the first round.
We’re not surprised that Kenny Pickett was the Steelers’ choice, but the fact that he was the first quarterback selected in this 2022 class does surprise us. Given the Pittsburgh franchise’s known need for a quarterback, NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo anticipated that they would be the ones to select the first quarterback in the NFL Draft 2022. In his tweet, he mentioned that it’d been 25 years since a quarterback had been taken after the first ten picks. On that occasion, in 1997, it was the San Francisco 49ers who made use of the #26 pick to select QB Jim Druckenmiller.
Kenny Pickett was not only the only quarterback selected in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft, but he became the University of Pittsburgh quarterback with the top pick, surpassing none other than the historic Dan Marino. This player was selected by the Miami Dolphins with pick #27 in the 1983 Draft, according to information provided on Twitter by Matt Brown of The Athletic.
Why did the Steelers select Kenny Pickett?
His numbers in the 2021 season allowed him to put himself in the Steelers’ crosshairs, as he completed 67.2 percent of his passes for 4,319 yards and 42 touchdowns against seven interceptions, allowing him to stand out from the rest.
Kenny Pickett was born in New Jersey, but Pittsburghers have adopted him, not just because he is now a Steelers player, but because he played five seasons with the Pittsburgh Panthers in the NCAA.
This selection, though, has nothing to do with sentimentality, but with the qualities that the boy has when he enters the gridiron. Although, in some ways, going to the Pittsburgh franchise will feel like coming home, at least that’s what he said after his selection on Twitter.
While everyone knew that the 2022 Draft wouldn’t feature a great lineup of quarterbacks, the experts had all their bets placed in Kenny Pickett, who during his five seasons with the Panthers recorded 81 touchdowns.
It looks like the Steelers made good use of their first-round pick, and now Pickett will join Mitchell Trubisky and Mason Rudolph, the other franchise quarterbacks.
