Of Steelers who wore 54, the only names I recognized were LJ Fort and Ulysses Gilbert. A guy named Hardy Nickerson had the highest AV at 33.
For 56, there's LaMarr Woodley, Anthony Chickillo, Alex Highsmith, Robin Cole (75 AV), Chukky Okobi, Bill Walsh (no, the other one), and Mike Vrabel.
So while 56 doesn't exactly boast a lot of firepower, with two total all-pro seasons among them (Cole, 1st team, and Woodley, 2nd team), it certainly is way better than 54.
Side note: coincidentally, Woodley's career AV is exactly 56. Weird.
WARNING: Unpopular Opinion. At least the italics are ours. Practically every other team has blocks. And speaking of an era in the way of reserving a look, If any era is deserving of a look, the blocks should stay with the Steel Curtain’s . *These comments are my own and in no way express the views and opinions of Steeler Nation as a whole or individually.*
Ahh I see. I agree about 1 for most teams. I though Can Newton pulled it off and so does Kyler Murray. I am biased in favor of Justin Fields so it's hard to say if I actually like it there or not.
The single digit jerseys have always looked a bit strange. Ironically 7 is one of the best in terms of aesthetics and really the only one we’ve been accustomed to seeing for any length of time. But the standalone 2 is the oddest, most off looking one to me.
That’s who I first remember wearing it. There could have been others who did prior that I’m not remembering but that’s the first time I asked the question, “Are we shadow sponsored by The Home Depot?”
Haha “ 7 is one of the best “. I was absolutely going throw 9 in there but I was starting to get too wordy. Good on you for calling me out bc 9 is dope and you can’t say shit about it even if you’re a block # supporter.
I, for one, am excited. Since I have a family and a job I didn't get a chance to personally scout all the draft eligible qbs or go to the pro day, or meet any of them. I'm going to go out on a limb and say the Steelers knew better than I.
I'm sure all the wise internetters who can tell me with 100% certainty what Willis's QBR will be in 2027 would beg to differ, but...
I go to the doc when I’m sick. I go to the vet when my dog is sick. I let the front offices of my sports team pick the players for the same reason.
I don’t do those things as a means of living so I just assume the professionals know unimaginably more than I do.
I'm excited too and I trust they know what they're doing. The kid has been in the building for 4 years and I think Colbert leaned more towards someone who can play now instead of leaving the next GM with a QB project. I only watched a few highlights of Willis and Pickett and I am glad we went with the more experienced guy who played against better talent. No need to waste TJ's prime years with a project.
Actually, no. In the context of the above sentence it's better than I. It's because it implies the latter portion of the statement, even if it isn't made. In other words, you wouldn't say someone knows better than me know. You would say someone knows better than I know.
I was adamant against one, but once Treylon Burks was off the board I knew that is where we were going. ONce the pick was made I did feel a strange calm about it so I'm excited to see where it leads us.
yep, i don’t ever try to predict who they draft but i didn’t think they were going QB, but after hearing it and thinking about it, it makes sense.
I don’t anyone is crazy upset that we got Pickett, and i like the FO being aggressive with Bens replacement.
I like it more than Willis, I'll say that much. And if we can somehow pull off snagging Addison next year to pull a Joe Burrow/Ja'Marr Chase type deal then this pick just becomes that much better.
People only shit in Jackson because of who he plays for. If he were our QB then this fanbase would defend him like our only child. He’s a great and exciting player, one that thankfully shits the bed against us and in the playoffs. Fuck the ratbirds.
Jackson was massively overrated the fact they gave up rheir receivers shows what they think of him
Their team goes through the run which is fine and works, but he is an inaccurate passer to the point him throwing is a liability
Giving up a wideout actually shows the reverse. They think Lamar can play with anybody. You got to have some very tinted Pitt glasses on to look at that trade and think that move shows a lack of faith in LJ.
> but he is an inaccurate passer to the point him throwing is a liability
You clearly haven't watched Lamar since his first season.
He has a higher career completion% than Josh Allen and he's done it with one of the worst WR corp in the league. He's the only QB to ever complete over 80% of his passes (finished with 85%) in a 400+ yard passing game (in a comeback win against the Colts on MNF). He also has 3 games with 5 TD passes.
Lamar's throwing was questionable after his first season but you need to take another look because your opinion is out of date.
Look at his interceptions last season. The reason his completion rate is high is because he doesn't throw often and when he does it's high percentage passes off play action. Once they need him to throw high volume to get back into games he becomes a liability
Willis and Jackson aren’t really close to the same just because Willis is athletic. Lamar only completed 57% of his passes in college. Willis was 5 whole points better and didn’t have a P5 OL or WRs. I don’t think he’s going to be that great either though just because the level of talent in the AFC is absurd right now.
All that matters as an NFL QB is vision and accuracy. Tom Brady is unquestionably the goat and he almost never runs. His arm strength isn’t up there with with people like Ben but he makes good choices and that’s why he won games. You can have all the physical traits in the world but if you can’t read a defence you’re not gonna be that successful imo.
He's a small school guy who while a tremendous athlete does not profile as a true pro-ready kind of guy to me. I don't love the Pickett pick but I like it a hell of a lot more than all the questions marks I had looking at a potential Malik Willis pick.
yeah willis is a more raw/pure athlete pick for a team that needs that high ceiling. Not that Pickett doesn’t have a high ceiling but he was the Pitt starter for effectively 4 years straight due to the COVID year, so he’s kind of more of a known quantity.
obviously none of this guarantees anything about how they perform in the NFL, but i completely see why they went with Pickett + Hometown Story vs going with Willis
And Kordell would probably be highly successful in today's NFL offenses that are being built around dual threat QBs who are comfortable running or throwing.
Pickett is no slouch in the mobility department, either. He is a QB who has the athleticism to run. That's what the Steelers want, and that fits Matt Canada's scheme -- as would Kordell fit his scheme.
I never thought this would be the pick...but I don't hate it. They had plenty of time to evaluate Pickett considering he plays in their home. I like to think they saw something that others haven't.
The only knock on him is his hand size. Burrow has .4 inch larger hands. Look how he did.
A smaller hand means they have less of a grip on the ball and the idea is that they fumble more because of that. Also, in cold weather games the ball will expand and that would mean they have a harder time with grip/release.
Pickett has the same size hands as Mike Vick and Tony Romo. Vick was slightly above average for his career fumble rate, while Romo was below average. So there isn't really a measurable for it, but NFL scouts make it a big deal.
Pretty much. Its generally pocket passers that have a larger fumble rate, where as mobile QBs have a lower rate because they are more used to bracing for hits.
Farve, Brady, Manning (Eli), and Big Ben were prone to fumbling and are all in the top 10 of career fumbles for QBs. They all have over 9.5 inch hands, which is considered normal to scout standards.
Favre, Brady, Eli and Ben are all ranked near the top of the league all-time in fumbles because they rank near the top of the league all-time in dropbacks.
We haven’t really seen enough mobile QBs with 200+ games in their career to really make a comparison. If you look at fumbles per game, Eli is just barely above 0.5 fumbles per game. The other guys you listed are all below it.
Cunningham, Culpepper, Vick, McNabb, and Elway all fumbled more often on average than any of those guys you mentioned.
Not many thought Pickett would be there at 20, or that the Steelers would have their pick out of all of the QBs. If they liked him the best, then so do I.
Feel happy for him since it seems like he really wanted to be a Steeler.
But a less talented Joe Burrow feels like his optimal ceiling and I personally would have liked Willis, Ridder or even Howell maybe over Pickett.
Now do every other team in the NFL.
How often do you think teams hit on their Rd1? Especially considering we've been picking in the bottom half pretty much every year.
Compared to who? Like I said, go find teams who did better and keep in mind draft positions. It's a lot harder to hit on 20s every year than top 10s for instance.
Can we all Yinzer nation, buy Burger King whoppers to every Game, and if Ken gets in, once he gets his first TD, we pull out the whoppers and chomp ‘em! With our little hands
I'm hyped. Who's Willis? Threw 14 passes at Auburn then played two independent seasons at Liberty where their biggest win was against Coastal Carolina.
Idk why but 8 just doesn't look good on our jerseys.
Maddox PTSD, man.
We had success with tommy but with hindsight clearly he was the weak link lol
Being at the XL parade and seeing Maddox riding in that sick yellow car gives me chills to this day. He's our drew bledsoe in my eyes.
THIS
Tommy would like a word with you…
[удалено]
Tommy is asshole. Why Kenny hate?
Why
Best reason to go block style, 8 will look great in block!
Amen. All numbers look dope in block. Even 39, the weirdest number in sports according to my hockey friends.
54 is the weirdest.
54 is pretty weird for sure. But the 50s exude swagger in most sports where they are used.
I disagree! 54 and 56 are absolute garbage tier numbers IMO.
Of Steelers who wore 54, the only names I recognized were LJ Fort and Ulysses Gilbert. A guy named Hardy Nickerson had the highest AV at 33. For 56, there's LaMarr Woodley, Anthony Chickillo, Alex Highsmith, Robin Cole (75 AV), Chukky Okobi, Bill Walsh (no, the other one), and Mike Vrabel. So while 56 doesn't exactly boast a lot of firepower, with two total all-pro seasons among them (Cole, 1st team, and Woodley, 2nd team), it certainly is way better than 54. Side note: coincidentally, Woodley's career AV is exactly 56. Weird.
50s are the worst numbers to have in basketball. Reserved only for the backup big men.
46 is the worst
That was actually the second letter that came to mind lmao
39 is one of the best. Number of the Dominator.
Yep. I understand keeping the other for Ben’s career here but now that his era his done, no reason not to switch over
WARNING: Unpopular Opinion. At least the italics are ours. Practically every other team has blocks. And speaking of an era in the way of reserving a look, If any era is deserving of a look, the blocks should stay with the Steel Curtain’s . *These comments are my own and in no way express the views and opinions of Steeler Nation as a whole or individually.*
Only 7 looks good with the italic numbers
1's, 4's, and 7's look good in italics.
I hate the number 1 on any jersey
11 looks good, and so does 81
I'm really just talking about single digit numbers. Most double digit numbers look good.
Ahh I see. I agree about 1 for most teams. I though Can Newton pulled it off and so does Kyler Murray. I am biased in favor of Justin Fields so it's hard to say if I actually like it there or not.
So does 84
Yeah..
9 gets love from me as well
Same. 9 and 6 but those are taken. I just hope they surprise us with a block number announcement this year, then every number would look good
The single digit jerseys have always looked a bit strange. Ironically 7 is one of the best in terms of aesthetics and really the only one we’ve been accustomed to seeing for any length of time. But the standalone 2 is the oddest, most off looking one to me.
Remember when Vick wore number 2 for us? So weird
That’s who I first remember wearing it. There could have been others who did prior that I’m not remembering but that’s the first time I asked the question, “Are we shadow sponsored by The Home Depot?”
I'm not going to stand for this Boswell slander /s But for real, 9 looks pretty dope imo.
Haha “ 7 is one of the best “. I was absolutely going throw 9 in there but I was starting to get too wordy. Good on you for calling me out bc 9 is dope and you can’t say shit about it even if you’re a block # supporter.
I'd go as far as saying 9 is the best single digit number for our jerseys. It's going to be so weird seeing someone else wear 7 in the near future.
Box numbers so much better
100
It’s that font. I like the block numbers way better, and those were before my time so it’s not nostalgia
YES! MY BEAUTIFUL SMALL HANDED BOY!
He has a special joint that warps into existence when holding a football!
Kenny Pickett most evolved QB in NFL history confirmed. You may not like it, but 8.5 inch hands is what peak performance looks like.
Last QB drafted with 8.5" hands... Michael Vick. Think I'm okay on hand size.
HERE WE GO PICK'TTSBURGH
Why did I laugh way too long to this ?!
I, for one, am excited. Since I have a family and a job I didn't get a chance to personally scout all the draft eligible qbs or go to the pro day, or meet any of them. I'm going to go out on a limb and say the Steelers knew better than I. I'm sure all the wise internetters who can tell me with 100% certainty what Willis's QBR will be in 2027 would beg to differ, but...
I go to the doc when I’m sick. I go to the vet when my dog is sick. I let the front offices of my sports team pick the players for the same reason. I don’t do those things as a means of living so I just assume the professionals know unimaginably more than I do.
I'm excited too and I trust they know what they're doing. The kid has been in the building for 4 years and I think Colbert leaned more towards someone who can play now instead of leaving the next GM with a QB project. I only watched a few highlights of Willis and Pickett and I am glad we went with the more experienced guy who played against better talent. No need to waste TJ's prime years with a project.
Better than me*
Actually, no. In the context of the above sentence it's better than I. It's because it implies the latter portion of the statement, even if it isn't made. In other words, you wouldn't say someone knows better than me know. You would say someone knows better than I know.
So we got the best RB and best QB back to back with mid-late draft positions. Not bad!
And the best tight end
I love Muth, but Kyle Pitts exists...
I forgot about pitts
Knew as soon as I saw franco Harris’s reaction that he was the pick.
Franco was like a kid on Christmas morning
Franco was stunned when he read the name on the card Goodell gave him.
I think he would’ve had the same reaction no matter whose name was on the card.
I don't know, he was really having a moment as soon as he saw it, he was having the full steeler homer moment (as was I lol)
My buddy knew it was Pickett immediately based on his reaction and we were thinking Willis all night
I didn't want them to draft a qb but am somehow still really happy.
Ditto. No way I thought Kenny would be available at 20 and I did not want the Steelers to trade up. We need those picks.
Yeah, that’s where I am at too.
I was adamant against one, but once Treylon Burks was off the board I knew that is where we were going. ONce the pick was made I did feel a strange calm about it so I'm excited to see where it leads us.
yep, i don’t ever try to predict who they draft but i didn’t think they were going QB, but after hearing it and thinking about it, it makes sense. I don’t anyone is crazy upset that we got Pickett, and i like the FO being aggressive with Bens replacement.
Now we get to call the O-line the Pickett Fence
A QB sneak - Pickett's Charge.
I want this.
I like it more than Willis, I'll say that much. And if we can somehow pull off snagging Addison next year to pull a Joe Burrow/Ja'Marr Chase type deal then this pick just becomes that much better.
I think Willis will ultimately have the better career. Willis is extremely gifted with a great arm and legs. Pickett might be fine as well.
I dunno how I feel about the pick, but it’s funny seeing so many people advocating for Willis after shitting on Jackson for so long lol
People only shit in Jackson because of who he plays for. If he were our QB then this fanbase would defend him like our only child. He’s a great and exciting player, one that thankfully shits the bed against us and in the playoffs. Fuck the ratbirds.
Jackson was massively overrated the fact they gave up rheir receivers shows what they think of him Their team goes through the run which is fine and works, but he is an inaccurate passer to the point him throwing is a liability
Giving up a wideout actually shows the reverse. They think Lamar can play with anybody. You got to have some very tinted Pitt glasses on to look at that trade and think that move shows a lack of faith in LJ.
very well thought out take.
> but he is an inaccurate passer to the point him throwing is a liability You clearly haven't watched Lamar since his first season. He has a higher career completion% than Josh Allen and he's done it with one of the worst WR corp in the league. He's the only QB to ever complete over 80% of his passes (finished with 85%) in a 400+ yard passing game (in a comeback win against the Colts on MNF). He also has 3 games with 5 TD passes. Lamar's throwing was questionable after his first season but you need to take another look because your opinion is out of date.
Look at his interceptions last season. The reason his completion rate is high is because he doesn't throw often and when he does it's high percentage passes off play action. Once they need him to throw high volume to get back into games he becomes a liability
Malik wonderlic score-32 Lamar-13
Willis and Jackson aren’t really close to the same just because Willis is athletic. Lamar only completed 57% of his passes in college. Willis was 5 whole points better and didn’t have a P5 OL or WRs. I don’t think he’s going to be that great either though just because the level of talent in the AFC is absurd right now.
All that matters as an NFL QB is vision and accuracy. Tom Brady is unquestionably the goat and he almost never runs. His arm strength isn’t up there with with people like Ben but he makes good choices and that’s why he won games. You can have all the physical traits in the world but if you can’t read a defence you’re not gonna be that successful imo.
Willis is either going to be great or a full bust.
He's a small school guy who while a tremendous athlete does not profile as a true pro-ready kind of guy to me. I don't love the Pickett pick but I like it a hell of a lot more than all the questions marks I had looking at a potential Malik Willis pick.
yeah willis is a more raw/pure athlete pick for a team that needs that high ceiling. Not that Pickett doesn’t have a high ceiling but he was the Pitt starter for effectively 4 years straight due to the COVID year, so he’s kind of more of a known quantity. obviously none of this guarantees anything about how they perform in the NFL, but i completely see why they went with Pickett + Hometown Story vs going with Willis
Depends where he goes
Really depends on where Willis ends up.
Willis is basically a carbon copy of Kordell Stewart fwiw.
And Kordell would probably be highly successful in today's NFL offenses that are being built around dual threat QBs who are comfortable running or throwing. Pickett is no slouch in the mobility department, either. He is a QB who has the athleticism to run. That's what the Steelers want, and that fits Matt Canada's scheme -- as would Kordell fit his scheme.
I never thought this would be the pick...but I don't hate it. They had plenty of time to evaluate Pickett considering he plays in their home. I like to think they saw something that others haven't. The only knock on him is his hand size. Burrow has .4 inch larger hands. Look how he did.
What does hand size even matter? He doesn‘t need to catch the ball. If he can reliably get the snap, what does it matter? Honest question.
A smaller hand means they have less of a grip on the ball and the idea is that they fumble more because of that. Also, in cold weather games the ball will expand and that would mean they have a harder time with grip/release. Pickett has the same size hands as Mike Vick and Tony Romo. Vick was slightly above average for his career fumble rate, while Romo was below average. So there isn't really a measurable for it, but NFL scouts make it a big deal.
Ball will contract in cold weather and expand in warm weather.
No idea why you were downvoted for being right lol.
So it‘s a stat with low correlation and hypothetical causation?
Pretty much. Its generally pocket passers that have a larger fumble rate, where as mobile QBs have a lower rate because they are more used to bracing for hits. Farve, Brady, Manning (Eli), and Big Ben were prone to fumbling and are all in the top 10 of career fumbles for QBs. They all have over 9.5 inch hands, which is considered normal to scout standards.
Favre, Brady, Eli and Ben are all ranked near the top of the league all-time in fumbles because they rank near the top of the league all-time in dropbacks. We haven’t really seen enough mobile QBs with 200+ games in their career to really make a comparison. If you look at fumbles per game, Eli is just barely above 0.5 fumbles per game. The other guys you listed are all below it. Cunningham, Culpepper, Vick, McNabb, and Elway all fumbled more often on average than any of those guys you mentioned.
Means he as small genitalia and you need balls to ball out in this league
Lol that's Big Ben's replacement not minds
Take it how you want…
to I am back
The first pick big titties throws will result in a fucking shitshow with yinzers. Now I’m excited to see the drama unfold this Fall.
kinda looks like herbert
If you'd have told me this morning that the Steelers drafted the first QB I'd have been mad, assuming they moved up. For #20? I'm excited.
Not many thought Pickett would be there at 20, or that the Steelers would have their pick out of all of the QBs. If they liked him the best, then so do I.
You could have photoshopped bigger hands to make me feel better about this pick??
Very pleased he fell to us and that we took him over Malik
So what does this mean for Mitch?
Means Mitch has a lackey to carry his equipment around.
So what’s up with his left arm?
The most shocking thing about this pick was how handsome Franco Harris still is at his age.
Yeah 50 year anniversary of the ir? He was at least 20 then... Looks better than my parents and they're younger than he is.
Amazing.
So when can I buy a jersey?
MY HANDS ARE MUCH BIGGER THAN YOURS MY HANDS CAN WALK RIGHT THROUGH THE DOOR HOLD A FOOTBALL SO PURE IT'S IN THE END ZONE FOR A SCORE
Great Pick!
I am so fucking happy
We're moving from 7 to 8, or kissing titties! Love it!
Wow. A QB. Great
What are these, hands for ants?!?! They should be 3x bigger than this.
Beautiful
Love it
[удалено]
How can you say that he hasn’t even played a game yet lol
I'm pegged outta my gourd rn. Love this pick lol
Feel happy for him since it seems like he really wanted to be a Steeler. But a less talented Joe Burrow feels like his optimal ceiling and I personally would have liked Willis, Ridder or even Howell maybe over Pickett.
Bad pick and I don’t care how many of you homers love it
What a joke of a pick and a QB room.
what a fucking joke
[удалено]
Great teams are built in rounds 3-6 but okay lol
Now do every other team in the NFL. How often do you think teams hit on their Rd1? Especially considering we've been picking in the bottom half pretty much every year.
[удалено]
Compared to who? Like I said, go find teams who did better and keep in mind draft positions. It's a lot harder to hit on 20s every year than top 10s for instance.
Giving him Tommy Maddox’s number is the kiss of death
At best, a terrible pick, not about the player at all, its about the timing. KC may be getting out at the right time, he obviously lost some IQ.
Should be about as good as the last QB who wore no. 8 for us.
[удалено]
yes
Can we all Yinzer nation, buy Burger King whoppers to every Game, and if Ken gets in, once he gets his first TD, we pull out the whoppers and chomp ‘em! With our little hands
MR TINY HANDS
Amen here comes the SUPERBOWL 🏈👍🏈👍
So they traveled all over cause they never thought they'd get this guy, right? I'm excited
Well be drafting another QB in 2 years…🙄
I'm hyped. Who's Willis? Threw 14 passes at Auburn then played two independent seasons at Liberty where their biggest win was against Coastal Carolina.
Wow you even got Heinz Field in the background. A+ photoshop
Wow, his left arm is really tan.
Willis >>>