Steelers Now
Of course, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ selection of Kenny Pickett in the 2022 NFL Draft was a massive failure. But to add insult to injury, the Steelers missed out on two-time Pro Bowl cornerback Trent McDuffie, who went to the Kansas City Chiefs at No. 21 overall, right behind the Pickett selection.
In a re-draft done by Bleacher Report’s Matt Holder, he has the Steelers taking McDuffie instead of Pickett. That would be a no-brainer, as the Steelers still have some uncertainties at the cornerback position. Can Joey Porter Jr. take a big leap in Year 3? Time will tell.
“Again, the Steelers weren’t going to find a quality quarterback in the 2022 draft class. Instead, opting to improve the defense’s secondary would have been the smarter move, as McDuffie has earned All-Pro bids (one first-team, one second-team) in each of the last two seasons,” Holder wrote.
In May, Pickett didn’t hold back when reflecting on his time with the Eagles, appearing to take a subtle shot at his former team during an interview with Browns media.
“I’m extremely grateful for my time in Philly,” Pickett said. “I just was shown how it’s supposed to be done, really, from the top down. So you get a chance to see what it’s supposed to look like and how it should look on a day-to-day basis, not just on Sundays. I think that will pay dividends for me in my future.”
Before joining the Eagles, Pickett spent two seasons with the Steelers, who selected him with the 20th overall pick in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft. Once viewed as the potential heir to Ben Roethlisberger, Pickett showed flashes of late-game heroics but struggled to establish consistency in the offense.
According to Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com, Pickett held the top spot on the Browns’ quarterback depth chart as the team prepared for OTAs and minicamp.
“It’s a tough call before we’ve even seen the first practice of organized team activities, but I know Kenny Pickett heads in as the frontrunner to win the starting job at the outset,” Cabot said. “He’ll take the initial first-team reps in OTAs and probably the mandatory minicamp, and it seems like it’s his job to try to keep for now.”
Slay revealed in a recent interview with Mina Kimes of ESPN that he wants to not only help fix Porter’s issues with penalties, but also improve his game in the interceptions department. Porter has only two INTs through his first two seasons.
“They say he can’t catch, but we’re gonna fix that,” Slay told Kimes. “We’re gonna catch the rock this year.”
Slay has recorded 28 interceptions in his decorated career. The 34-year-old cornerback is a Super Bowl champion, eight-time Pro Bowler and has a first-team All-Pro selection (2017) under his belt. Slay hopes to give Porter and the Steelers young cornerbacks he same wisdom that he passed down to Philadelphia Eagles rookie cornerbacks Cooper DeJean and Quinyon Mitchell last season during their Super...
