Kenny Pickett’s excellent preseason continued against the Buffalo Bills’ starting defense Saturday night.
Pickett followed up a nearly perfect preseason debut by completing 3-of-4 pass attempts for 43 yards and a touchdown in two drives, hitting tight end Pat Friermuth for a 25-yard touchdown — firing a perfectly thrown laser over the middle of the field.
And after two drives, Pickett left the game with a 14-0 lead over the Bills.
In two preseason games this season, Pickett has completed 9-of-11 pass attempts for 113 yards and two touchdowns. And in three drives this preseason, the Steelers’ offense has scored three touchdowns.
It’s just the preseason, of course, but Pickett has shown a noted improvement in his footwork in the pocket and his placement and velocity on his throws — with both touchdown passes featuring perfect placement. It’s the kind of progress that Pickett needed to show after his first full offseason with the Steelers.
Pickett completed 245-of-389 pass attempts (63%) for 2,404 yards with seven touchdowns and nine interceptions (adding 237 rushing yards and three more touchdowns on the ground) last season, and after two preseason games, it appears as though Pickett is on the verge of a breakout sophomore campaign in Pittsburgh.
The Steelers will finish up its preseason slate with an away matchup against the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday, Aug. 24 at 7:30 p.m. before kicking off the 2023 regular season at home against the San Francisco 49ers.
Not bad for such small hands…