Kenny Pickett will be the starting quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2023. In his rookie season of 2022, he did not earn the starting role at the beginning of the year. After some poor play from Mitchell Trubisky, the Steelers finally gave Pickett a chance. He struggled early on with consistency and also some various injuries. But at the end of the year, the Steelers went on a 7-2 run to cap the season. Pickett was one of the biggest reasons for this run, but his stats do not show that. With the Steelers adding some offensive weapons and strengthening their offensive line, could Pickett be due for a great season?
Kenny Pickett 2023 Fantasy Football Profile
Kenny Pickett Fantasy Football 2022 Season Recap
Pickett did not appear in his first game until Week 4 against the Jets. Playing just the second half, Pickett threw for 120 yards and rushed for two touchdowns, but threw for three interceptions. The rest of the season was up and down for him, as he finished with more interceptions than touchdowns. But, in the final nine games, the Steelers went 7-2 while Pickett had a 5:2 touchdown to interception ratio. The stats were not there at all, which means that fantasy production wasn’t there either. Pickett finished with a measly average of 12.2 points per game which placed him as the 28th QB…ouch! He never scored more than 19 points in a single game and he was never worthy of a fantasy start in leagues with less than 20 teams.
Kenny Pickett 2023 Season Prediction
Pickett has reportedly made big strides this offseason and the Steelers have done a lot of things to help him out. A couple of stats to note from last year: Pickett only threw for 250+ yards three times and never threw more than one touchdown in a game. I would hope that he meets these goals at least a few times this year, or the Steelers should really start to question his consistency. With what has been shared on social media, it seems Pickett should be a lot better in 2023, but honestly, we’ll have to see.
Assuming he is due for a decent season, he will still be a middle-of-the-pack quarterback in the AFC with plenty of other stars in the same conference. My prediction for Pickett’s final 2023 stat line is between 3900 and 4200 yards (~230-250 per game) and between 25-30 total touchdowns (passing+rushing). This would put Pickett around an 18-22 fantasy point-per-game average.
Pickett’s Fantasy ADP/Rankings
Most fantasy sites have Pickett as the consensus #22 quarterback, and he ranges from about quarterback #18-#25 depending on league preference. This puts him around 140th-150th overall pick, which places him between the 12th and 15th rounds in most standard (8-12 teams) leagues. At the start of the season, he projects to be a backup or one of the highest-ranked QB free agents in standard leagues. Only time will tell how Pickett works out, but his stock could certainly rise with good, consistent play. If he makes big strides, he could become a streamer quarterback toward the end of the year. I would not recommend drafting Pickett in 8-12 team leagues, but he could be a valuable asset on your bench. If he makes a big leap, he will be dynasty fantasy football gold.
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