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After all the chatter leading up to Thursday night, only one quarterback was selected in the first round of the 2022 draft.
Kenny Pickett only has to use another door in the building to get into his new football facility since the Steelers drafted him 20th overall.
As head coach Mike Tomlin put it in a post-election press conference: “[W]We’ve been circling the world — or at least the United States — here for the past few months, man, just to explore and research. And weirdly we ended up with a guy next door.”
Tomlin touted Pickett’s “high ground” with the quarterback’s intangibles, anticipation and accuracy being “obvious and consistent in studying his tape.”
And while the Steelers are familiar with Mason Rudolph already on the roster and have signed Mitchell Trubisky in free agency, there’s a chance Pickett might be behind Center Week One.
“He’ll certainly get the opportunity to compete,” said Tomlin.
Since Pitt shares a building with the Steelers, Tomlin noted that he is already well acquainted with Pickett.
“I’ve known him for several years now,” Tomlin said, “whether it’s in the car park or whatever, I wish him the best of luck in a big game of the week, neighborhood things, in a very natural way I’m with those finished those who came before him.”
Now Tomlin Pickett will be coaching for the foreseeable future.