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Chris Simms Ranks Kenny Pickett Second-Last QB in NFL

The skepticism around Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett continues.

Noah Strackbein

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The Pittsburgh Steelers will have an interesting quarterback battle this summer between Mason Rudolph, Mitchell Trubisky and first-round pick Kenny Pickett. But to one NFL analyst, the rookie leaves this team with a bottom-five QB. 

Chris Simms released his top 40 quarterbacks in the NFL this week, and Pickett's named dropped all the way to 39. That placement ranks below Gardner Minshew and Teddy Bridgewater, and just before Drew Lock. 

"Kenny Pickett's top-end talent is real good. Is it as good as Drew Lock? No. It's not a strong arm, he's not as big of a human being as he is," Simms said. "But he's as good of an athlete. Pickett's a good athlete."

Now, Simms does say he's impressed by Pickett's mental side, which was a major turn on for teams during the NFL Draft process. The Heisman finalist and ACC champ has been praised by many, including Mike Tomlin and Kevin Colbert, about his leadership.

"Pickett, as far as the mental aspect, is as impressive as it gets coming out of college the last few years," Simms said. "Mac Jones and Joe Burrow are the only two guys I can remember in recent history I go, 'oh' in the pocket, making decisions, going through reads, putting the ball in the right spot. It's as good as we've seen come out there. ... It's the high-end talent I question but it's still a starting quarterback here."

The Steelers hope they landed a long-time starter with Super Bowl potential, but it's still a wait-and-see game until he wins the job. And until then, many will continue to question his level of talent in the NFL. 

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Noah Strackbein
NOAH STRACKBEIN

Noah is the Publisher for All Steelers, Inside the Panthers (InsideThePanthers.com) and Inside the Penguins (InsidethePenguins.com), and is the host of All Steelers Talk (YouTube.com/AllSteelersTalk). A Scranton native, Noah made his way to the Pittsburgh sports scene in 2017. Now, he's pretty much full-yinzer.

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