Kenny Pickett Stats: Steelers QB Entering Sophomore Season

Pickett Looks to Build on Rookie Season

June 1, 2023 191 2 minutes readNFL Picks & Parlays

Kenny Pickett Stats: Steelers QB Entering Sophomore Season — PATRICK SMITH / GETTY IMAGES

Playing for the Pitt Panthers
What's Next in 2023?

Somebody was going to have the unenviable job of replacing Ben Roethlisberger and that job fell to Kenny Pickett. The Kenny Pickett stats weren’t anything special, but they do give a reason for optimism heading into his second season in 2023. The Steelers quarterback threw for 2,404 yards and completed 63% of his passes. That’s the good news. The bad news is he threw seven touchdowns and was intercepted nine times. Those aren’t great numbers for your starting quarterback.

But Pickett got better as the season went on. That’s what you do want to see in a rookie quarterback. In his first four games, the Kenny Pickett stats show two touchdown passes and seven interceptions. He threw just two interceptions over the final nine games. His completion percentage went down a bit, as he learned to throw the ball away when nobody was open.

But the NFL results show Pickett was 7-5 as a starter. That’s the only thing that really matters in the NFL. Pittsburgh started off a bit slow with Pickett but won five of the last six games he started. The Steelers were also 5-1 against the NFL point spreads in those games.

For the season, Pickett completed 245 of 389 passes. He also aided his cause with 237 yards on the ground and three rushing TDs. He rushed for 23 first downs and lost three fumbles. It wasn’t a great rookie season. But it wasn’t all that bad, either.

Playing for the Pitt Panthers

Before he became the starting quarterback of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Pickett was the starter for the Pitt Panthers. In his five years, Pickett completed 1,045 of 1,674 passes (62.4%) for 12,303 yards. He threw for 81 touchdowns and was intercepted 32 times. He added 20 rushing touchdowns in his college career.

Pickett’s best season was his last when he threw for 4,319 yards and 42 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He rushed for an additional five scores. He was a Heisman Trophy finalist and won the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award. The Panthers went 11-2 with Pickett as the starter. He saw out the team’s bowl game, which Pitt lost to Michigan State.

What’s Next in 2023?

It’s not unreasonable to expect the Kenny Pickett stats to get better in 2023. With a year under his belt and a strong finish, Pickett should be a smarter player than he was a year ago. He’s still a long shot to make the jump to becoming one of the elite players in the league this early. The odds of Pickett winning the NFL Offensive Player of the Year Award are +10000. Those are the same odds as the likes of Kirk Cousins, Jordan Love, or Daniel Jones.

Pickett is +6000 to lead the league in passing yards, where he is once again tied with Jones. He has lower odds than prized rookies Bryce Young or CJ Stroud, but higher odds than Love, Jalen Hurts, or Lamar Jackson.