Back in 2022, the Pittsburgh Steelers needed a long-term answer at quarterback. The Steelers decided to roll with Kenny Pickett at the 20th overall pick, someone they believed was the best option in an otherwise weak QB class.
Fast forward to 2026, and that chapter was closed a while ago. However, to The Athletic’s Robert Mays, the Steelers are still struggling in the aftermath of that pick. Mays believes the Steelers are a good example of the fallout from missing on a first-round quarterback.
“This is what happens if you miss out on the first-round guys. The Steelers are exactly in this boat with Kenny Pickett. They’re still moving through this… It really is at least five, and often seven years, that are attached to this sort of pick, if you’re drafting a quarterback this high,” Mays said Thursday on The Athletic Football Show. “Again, you said the Steelers, that was one where I had down. It’s been four years since they missed on Kenny Pickett. They’re still working through it.”
Mays talks about how long a miss so early in the draft can affect a franchise, and he has an argument. When drafting a quarterback in the first round, even if it’s at 20th overall, there are obviously high expectations. Nowadays, with high-level quarterbacks making extreme amounts of money on their second contracts, teams often try to contend while that quarterback is still on a rookie deal.
The Steelers try to contend every year, no matter what. There are times in which franchises sacrifice assets to contend with a young quarterback, and their timeline gets funky when that quarterback doesn’t pan out. But the Steelers haven’t had the worst run in the world since Pickett and the franchise parted ways before the 2024 season.
It hasn’t been perfect, as the Steelers still haven’t snapped their playoff losing streak. But they got some solid play at times from Russell Wilson and Justin Fields in 2024, then even better play from Aaron Rodgers in 2025. The Steelers do still have 10 wins and a playoff appearance in each of their last three seasons. So missing on Pickett didn’t completely set the franchise back.
That being said, the Steelers are still feeling some effects. Pickett clearly hasn’t worked out at the NFL level. But he did win 14 out of 24 starts with the Steelers over two seasons. As a result, they haven’t been high enough in the draft to select another quarterback early in the first round and have had to cycle through veterans since.
With Mike McCarthy in town, finding their next franchise QB is a problem the Steelers hope to solve sooner rather than later. And maybe Will Howard, or another young quarterback through the draft, can be that guy. But for now, Mays thinks the Steelers are still feeling the effects of their first-round miss back in 2022.