In 2022, the Pittsburgh Steelers made Kenny Pickett the first quarterback off the board, asking him to fill legendary passer Ben Roethlisberger’s shoes.
Just three seasons later, he’s a Super Bowl champion.
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Pittsburgh would’ve preferred Pickett to win under different circumstances. The Steelers saw their season end in the Wild Card Round at the hands of the Baltimore Ravens. The Philadelphia Eagles, who traded for Pickett in the offseason, took down the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday in the Super Bowl.
For Pittsburgh’s most recent attempt at a franchise quarterback, Kittle went as planned. But in the greener pastures of Lincoln Financial Field, Pickett took on a new role—one that landed him a championship.
As such, Steelers fans are saying the same thing about Pickett winning the Super Bowl with the Eagles.
Things didn’t work out for Pickett in Western Pennsylvania. In two seasons, he went 14-10, throwing 13 touchdowns to as many interceptions and averaging 6.3 yards per attempt. Notably, Mason Rudolph started over him in the 2023 Wild Card Round rout against the Buffalo Bills.
Yet, most fans were happy to see the passer they rooted for get his moment under the New Orleans lights.
In the 40-22 blowout, Pickett got the chance to see the field. While he was on chew-clock duty, it was Pickens, not Super Bowl MVP Jalen Hurts, who took the final kneel-down and kicked off the confetti.
It may have ended poorly, with Pickett encouraging a trade out of Pittsburgh after changes to the quarterback room and fans left upset with his performance. But Pickett had largely played the part of a franchise quarterback well, even if the results didn’t follow, and had to deal with the immense pressure of replacing the irreplaceable.
In the end, Pickett got to play for his hometown team and help them secure a championship. In return, the Steelers received the 98th pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, which they turned into linebacker Payton Wilson.
With Pickett out of the picture, that’s a trade Pittsburgh will take every time, especially with Wilson’s promising play down the stretch.
Pickett was joined by former Steelers Fred Johnson, Le’Raven Clark, and Braden Mann as champions of the football world.
