PITTSBURGH — By almost every measure, the Steelers season was a failure. They didn't make the playoffs despite going 7-2 down the stretch and finishing with a 9-8 record. They won't win a postseason game for the sixth consecutive year, a futility streak that hasn't happened in 50 years for the once-proud franchise.
But the season was a success in one significant way:
The development of Kenny Pickett.
Mike Tomlin declined to call Pickett a "franchise" quarterback at his final news briefing of the season on Monday, perhaps to ease the pressure on Pickett as he heads into his second NFL season. But he did answer a question about the growth of Pickett and young offensive standouts Najee Harris, George Pickens and Pat Freiermuth after the 28-14 win against the Cleveland Browns on Sunday.
"I don't know that I use 'pleased' very often," Tomlin said. "I'll take it. We'll keep working."
Other football people aren't afraid to put the pressure of *THE* tag on Pickett.
"I've seen enough to say he's a franchise quarterback," Phil Simms said on CBS.
Ben Roethlisberger said much the same thing about Pickett on his weekly podcast.
"I wasn't sure what to expect from Kenny. I know he played great at Pitt and did a lot of great things. But coming in, I wasn't sure what to think.
"I severely, in my opinion, underestimated Kenny. I apologize. I think he throws the ball better than I thought. He runs way better than I thought. I don't know if he's faster or just more elusive, but he runs the ball way better than I expected and thought. His decision-making is really good. His leadership, his toughness, just enough of an edge to him, it looks like.
"What I want to say is, 'Kenny, keep doing what you're doing because you are leading this team and becoming the guy everyone was hoping you would be.' "
Who am I to argue with the best quarterback in Steelers history?
I admit I also had concerns about Pickett early on. It was troubling that a handful of quarterback-needy teams passed on him in the April draft, allowing the Steelers to take him with the No. 20 pick. Those concerns increased when Pickett took over for Mitch Trubisky at halftime of the fourth game against the New York Jets and promptly threw three interceptions in a 24-20 loss. He threw eight interceptions in his first four games with just two touchdown passes.
But Pickett improved dramatically after the Steelers' bye week. He threw just one interception in his final 224 passes with five touchdown passes. He also led late, game-winning touchdown drives to beat the Las Vegas Raiders and Baltimore Ravens with the team's playoff survival at stake at the time.
Even Tomlin temporarily gushed about Pickett after his 10-yard touchdown pass to Harris with 56 seconds remaining beat the Ravens in Baltimore on New Year's Day.
"I can't say enough about our young [quarterback]. He smiles in the face of it. He's always ready to be that guy in the moments that we need him to be that guy. It's just good to see it in a young guy. None of us are surprised by what he does from an intangible standpoint."
The best thing about Pickett? He has "plenty of meat" on his bone, to use a favorite Tomlinism about a player's potential for growth. Pickett should grow significantly with an offseason of work and first-team reps with his offense at training camp and in the exhibition games, something he didn't get last summer. A new offensive coordinator could help if Tomlin elects to replace Matt Canada.
"I felt the offense started to become my own the more I was playing in it, taking real ownership of it instead of just kind of playing catch-up when I got thrown in there a little bit earlier and I was just worried about executing the plays," Pickett said after the Browns game. "I felt like I had everything at my disposal when I was coming to the line of scrimmage.
"I just want to be consistent. I want to be a consistent guy, a consistent leader. I want to continue to improve. I don't think I'm anywhere close to what I can be and what I'm going to be."
No less than Roethlisberger agrees.
"I think the sky is the limit for Kenny."
