Steelers QB Camp Notebook: Not the Best Day for Kenny Pickett

The Pittsburgh Steelers first-round pick continues to show rookie traits.
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LATROBE, PA -- The Pittsburgh Steelers are two days through training camp practices, and already, the quarterback battle is starting to shape itself. 

Day two brought another day without Chris Oladokun. The seventh-round rookie has yet to take a snap during team drills. So far, he's worked behind all the others, reading defenses and working hip motions. 

The rest of the order remained the same: Mitch Trubisky, Mason Rudolph and Kenny Pickett. 

Statbook

Mitch Trubisky: 9/13, INT

Trubisky and Rudolph threw their first interceptions of camp, but besides that, it was a much better day for the first-stringer. Conditions were wet after some heavy rain at the beginning of practice, but Trubisky didn't let it slow him. He worked the pocket well and kept all of his passes relatively safe.

After a rather unimpressive first day, Trubisky looked like the No. 1 on day two.

Mason Rudolph: 14/19, INT

Rudolph continues to be the safest quarterback on the field, which becomes a problem when he makes a throw further than 15 yards. He attempted one pass down the sideline to Calvin Austin, who was nowhere near open. Then, he threw another to Gunner Olszewski and it landed four yards in front of him. 

Consistency is key to the NFL, and Rudolph certainly has that, but anything deep is a concern. That being said, he did find Olszewski later on a bomb to the left side and placed it perfectly. 

Kenny Pickett: 9/13, INT

Pickett had a rather unimpressive afternoon. After throwing an interception on his first attempt, he followed the series with multiple incompletions, which appeared to be because of the rain and his gloves. 

We shouldn't be ready to jump on the "Pickett needs to lose the gloves" train, but it was noticeable that the conditions effected him. 

Pickett did have some good plays moving outside the pocket to extend plays. So far, he's the best mobile option at QB, but his deep ball was nowhere to be found, and sometimes, neither was his short game.

Quotes

The theme of today was blind faith in all three of these quarterbacks. The Steelers are rotating so much that it does seem like there's never the same group on the field. So, for the pass-catchers, they're learning that all three of these guys are fully capable of making plays. 

Calvin Austin on Trusting All Three

"With each quarterback, they each have their strengths. With whoever's in there, really you just have to focus on your job because there's so much responsibility that we have to do, that we can't really worry about who's the guy that's throwing the ball, we just have to make sure us receivers, we're doing our stuff. I couldn't even tell you sometimes who's in, I'm just trying to make sure I have my eyes on the down, trying to listen to coach [Frisman Jackson] and just execute."

"I would feel 100% comfortable with any of those guys game one going in there and leading and commanding the offense."

Zach Gentry on Leadership of All Three

"I think they're all doing a good job. It's surprising to see them all come in with a couple of new faces and command the huddle the way they have. It's been impressive from a leadership standpoint to feel the sharpness of them calling the plays."

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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.