Kenny Pickett braced for pressure to be Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback – Pittsburgh Steelers Blog

PITTSBURGH – Art Rooney II only took 69 words to call out the haunting name Pittsburgh Steelers in two decades.

When introducing the first pick Kenny Pickett on Friday afternoon, Rooney brought Pitt’s great countryman Dan Marino whom the Steelers had a chance to pick with pick number 21 in the 1983 draft.

“Obviously we are delighted to be able to introduce Kenny to all of you today,” said Rooney. “And usually, I have to say to each person, ‘Welcome to Pittsburgh,’ and today I have to say, ‘Welcome to this side of the building.’ It’s a great feeling to be able to do that.

“And I can also say that we’ve drawn someone who broke all of Dan Marino’s records in college, which is pretty special.”

Instead of going with the local quarterback four decades ago, Pittsburgh opted for Gabe Rivera. The defender played six games during his rookie season before a car accident left him paralyzed. Just then, Terry Bradshaw felt a pop while his right elbow – throw – was surgically repaired against New York Jets and never played again. Without a concrete succession plan, the Steelers were left to roam the desert in midfield, cycling through makeshift answers, until they drafted. Ben Roethlisberger in the year 2004.

Meanwhile, Marino played 17 seasons for Miami Dolphinswon the title of MVP in 1984 and rewrote the record books en route to his Pro Football Hall of Fame house in 2005.

“I was walking out of the press conference room when [former Pittsburgh Press and later ESPN reporter] John Clayton was there, and he said, ‘I have a great idea of ​​what you should do,’ Dan Rooney said in an interview with WTAE in 2014, recalling the 1983 draft.” Marino is still there. He said ‘You should take Marino and trade [Cliff] Say it out loud for the second pick. ‘ I said, ‘That’s a really good idea.’ I went into the room and gave them the idea. [The scouts] say, ‘Who did you talk to?’ John Clayton said I was silly. That was immediately the end of that. ”

This time, however, the Steelers picked the side full-back, who broke Marino’s college record.

“It was special,” Pickett said of his connection to Marino. “I’m glad they didn’t pass me this year. It feels great to be here. I talked to Dan a lot. I will continue to talk to him and use him as a resource. ”

Thursday night is the perfect chapter in a Pittsburgh fantasy. But it’s far from guaranteed that Pickett will have a fairy-tale ending.

He proved himself with a great senior season, a fifth year has passed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but now he will have to do it all again.

Not only did Pickett enter the doors of the UPMC Sports Complex with high expectations as the sole quarterback in the first round of this year’s draft, but he also came in the shadow of Roethlisberger, the future defender. future Steelers Hall of Fame, who retired after last season, and, to a lesser extent, Marino.

“It was comfortable,” Pickett said of staying in Pittsburgh, “but I had a job at hand and I knew what I had to do. I knew how to do my business, so I was really excited. being here. The first match back to Heinz Field instead of being blue and yellow, it’s going to be black and gold, I’m really excited for that.”

While he is in a relationship with Marino, Pickett said on Friday he doesn’t really know Roethlisberger but has spoken to current midfielders Mitch Trubisky and Mason Rudolphboth his potential competitor and mentor, as he prepares to compete for the job to begin.

“I think the pressure will always be there, but it’s all going to be good pressure because he’s a competitor,” Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi said. “He wants to compete.

“But when you look at playing at Heinz Field, how familiar he is, he knows where to park. … He knows where he’s going. He didn’t go, ‘Where am I going to live?’ “

Through assessing Pickett over the past 5 years, the Steelers believe the maturity he gained during his collegiate extra season makes him uniquely equipped to deal with the pressures that come with the circumstances. especially when it comes to being this Steelers full-back.

General manager Kevin Colbert said: “Kenny is just a mature, mature guy. “A lot of times, when we study midfielders, for example, we not only watch them on the pitch, but we also watch them off the pitch, when they go out on the pitch, how are they with their teammates, how they interact with each other. how are they. coaches, how do they conduct media interviews.

“We talked to Kenny about how he would handle this in this market because he was going from a great University of Pittsburgh to a potentially great Steeler. But for him it will be different. He will no longer be a college player, he will be a professional footballer, and will have different expectations. But we feel that the maturity he displays on and off the pitch will help him in that endeavor.”

Pickett knows he has big boots to fill, quarterbacks who have won Super Bowls for the Steelers, and who suppose never got a chance. But all he can do is what he’s been doing all his career: Put your head down and get to work.

“I don’t know if I’m Dan Marino,” Pickett said on pro day in March. “He’s a great guy to go after. He’s the guy I’ve been chasing. during my time here at Pitt he is a great role model to have. … It is unbelievable to be in the same sentence as him. I will just try to work as hard as possible. to have a career as successful as he has had.”