Kenny Pickett Fantasy Football News | Shark Bites

Steelers QB Kenny Pickett completed 31 passes on 46 attempts for 232 passing yards with 1 TD and 2 INTs in Sunday’s loss vs. the 49ers. He also added 4 rushing yards in the contest, but there are not many good things to say about the second-year player. The Steelers’ offense logged 1 total yard of offense in the first half until their final drive, which saw Pickett find TE Pat Freiermuth for a 3-yard TD before halftime. The team only sustained a drive over 10 plays once in the second half. The Steelers looked like the same old offense that struggled for much of 2022 under OC Matt Canada. They’ll have a chance to rebound next Monday against the Browns in Week 2, though fantasy managers shouldn’t be in any hurry to throw Pickett into their lineups.

NFL insider Adam Caplan passed along some intel on QB Kenny Pickett. Following a conversation with OC Matt Canada, Caplan learned that Pickett’s arm is “way better than it had been,” noting how he’s improved his upper-body strength. Broadly, Canada shared that Pickett’s made a “big jump from Year 1 to Year 2,” per Caplan. Pittsburgh’s expected to emphasize the run in 2023. But given a strong supporting cast, Pickett profiles as an intriguing QB2 inside our QB rankings.

The Steelers morphed into a run-heavy offense over the second half of last season, ranking sixth in rush rate. It sounds like the plan is to continue in that direction this year. “I think our identity was pretty clear the last nine games (of 2022),” OC Matt Canada said. “We ran the ball well, we were physical. You see who we drafted, who we acquired (this offseason). I don’t think there is any question about what our identity is going to be. We want to run the ball, we want to be physical, and we want to be a good team that can throw the football down the field. I think our identity is well known, and we’ll stay where we’re at.” The Steelers spent the 14th overall pick of this spring's draft on OT Broderick Jones and signed free-agent G Isaac Seumalo to bolster the offensive line. They return RBs Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren, who will presumably be busy this year. Both guys are fine picks at ADP. The run-heavy plan is worrisome for QB Kenny Pickett, WRs Diontae Johnson and George Pickens, and TE Pat Freiermuth.

The Rams are finalizing a trade to send WR Allen Robinson to the Steelers, pending Robinson passing a physical. No word yet on the compensation, but the Rams probably aren't getting much. Robinson is set to count $18 million against the 2023 salary cap and has been one of the least efficient WRs in the NFL over the past two seasons. He ranked 86th out of 101 qualifying WRs in yards per route run in 2021 and 90th out of 96 last year. Robinson figures to slide in as Pittsburgh's #3 WR behind Diontae Johnson and George Pickens. He's not an exciting fantasy pick. The Rams, meanwhile, are left with Cooper Kupp, Van Jefferson, Tutu Atwell, and Ben Skowronek atop the WR depth chart. We'll see if they add to the position.

Update: Per ESPN's Adam Schefter, the Steelers are getting Robinson and the 251st overall pick of this year's draft in exchange for the 234th overall pick. The Rams are also paying $10.25 million of Robinson’s salary. The Steelers will pay the remaining $5 million. If you needed confirmation that Robinson's tank is empty, there you go.

Steelers QB Kenny Pickett completed 15 of 27 passes for 168 yards and 1 TD in Week 17's win vs. the Ravens. The rookie hasn't been much of a fantasy factor this season and his performance on Sunday night is more impressive in real life than anything else. Pickett has yet to throw for multiple TD passes in a game through 11 NFL starts and only has 4 games with over 200 passing yards. Still, he's shown flashes of promise at times and will be a fun name to watch in 2023 and beyond as he continues to learn and improve.

Steelers QB Kenny Pickett (concussion) practiced fully for the 2nd day in a row. HC Mike Tomlin said earlier this week that he expected the rookie to clear concussion protocol and start against the Raiders on Saturday. This week's practice reports reflect that. While the Raiders rank as the 3rd-best matchup in adjusted points allowed to QBs, the weather in Pittsburgh may cause passing the ball to be challenging for both teams. As such, Pickett is a low-end QB2 worthy of consideration in superflex leagues only.

Steelers QB Kenny Pickett (concussion) will start this weekend's game vs. the Raiders, HC Mike Tomlin said Tuesday. It sounds like Pickett still has 1 more step to pass protocol, so we'll keep an eye on his practice participation this week. Vegas ranks 30th in adjusted fantasy points allowed to QBs, but Pickett hasn't shown enough this season to be more than a mid-range QB2 for Week 16.

The Steelers downgraded QB Kenny Pickett (concussed) to out for Sunday's game vs. the Panthers and announced that QB Mitchell Trubisky will. Trubisky is a bottom-barrel QB2 but might be good news for WR Diontae Johnson, who drew a 27% target share from Trubisky last week and a 32% share with Trubisky over the first 3 weeks of the season.

Steelers QB Kenny Pickett (concussion) is listed as doubtful for Sunday's game vs. the Panthers. He was limited in practice this week, but the team evidently doesn't expect him to be cleared by Sunday. QBs Mitchell Trubisky and Mason Rudolph reportedly split reps in practice this week, and HC Mike Tomlin declined to name a starter on Friday. You, of course, shouldn't be messing with the situation in Week 15 fantasy lineups.

Steelers QB Kenny Pickett (concussion) remained limited in Thursday's practice. We'll get another update on his progress on Friday afternoon.

Steelers QB Kenny Pickett (concussion) got in a limited practice on Wednesday. That gives him a shot to be cleared in time for Sunday's game vs. the Panthers. QBs Mitchell Trubisky and Mason Rudolph reportedly split reps in Wednesday's practice, so it's unclear who will start this weekend if Pickett can't.

Steelers QB Kenny Pickett exited in the 1st quarter of Sunday's game vs. the Ravens to be checked for a concussion. QB Mitchell Trubisky replaced him. We'll update Pickett's status when we know more.

Update: Pickett has been ruled out. This is his 2nd concussion of the season.

Steelers Kenny Pickett didn't do anything special in Sunday's loss to the Bengals, but he did enough to sit 14th among fantasy QBs heading into the Monday night game. The rookie completed 25 of 42 passes (59.5%) for 265 yards (6.3 per attempt) and 1 TD. He missed connections with WR George Pickens on 2 other occasions that could have added quite a bit more -- 1 a drop by the rookie wideout. Pickett did hit Pickens for his only score from 24 yards out. He also took just 2 sacks and avoided turning the ball over. The QB added 14 yards on just 2 carries. The rushing has helped him be viable for 2-QB and superflex leagues. You should still be able to do better in 1-QB formats. Pickett and the Steelers visit the Colts and Falcons the next 2 weeks.

Steelers QB Kenny Pickett went just 18 of 30 passing for 199 yards and took 6 sacks in Sunday's win over the Saints. He did tally 51 yards and a TD on the ground. That's nice, but the passing performance against a beat-up Saints D missing its top CB confirms Pickett should be well outside of lineup plans for 1-QB fantasy football leagues.