Pittsburgh Steelers rookie Kenny Pickett listed atop QB depth chart

The time has finally come for rookie Kenny Pickett to replace veteran free-agent signee Mitchell Trubisky as the Pittsburgh Steelers' starting quarterback.

The Steelers listed their 2022 first-round pick as the starter on the depth chart for Sunday's matchup against the Buffalo Bills.

Pickett — the No. 20 pick in the 2022 NFL Draft — took over in the second half of Sunday's eventual 24-20 loss to the New York Jets. He went 10-for-13 for 120 yards, three interceptions and added two rushing scores.

Turnovers aside, Pickett's debut gave the Steelers' offense a spark, even though it wasn't enough to pull off the win, as Jets sealed the deal with a rushing TD with 16 seconds to spare. 

Trubisky finished the day 7-for-13 passing for 84 yards and an interception. On the season, he has totaled 653 passing yards, two passing touchdowns, two interceptions and a 73.7 quarterback rating, completing 59.5% of his passes. He has also rushed for 24 yards and one touchdown.

"In an effort to be better, in an effort to score more points, in an effort to move the ball more fluently, we decided to go to Kenny in the hopes that he will provide a spark for us," Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said on Tuesday. "Obviously, Mitch's performance was a component of the decision, but not the only component. We haven’t moved the ball fluently enough to our liking."

On Monday's "Speak," former NFL running back LeSean McCoy said it's about time Pittsburgh made the move.

"I'm happy [coach Mike] Tomlin finally gave it the OK," he said. "Kenny Pickett is a beast. I watched him at Pitt. I went to Pitt. I know what type of players come from Pitt."

McCoy's cohost Joy Taylor concurred, saying that Pickett should have been starting for the Steelers all along.

"I didn't like that he didn't win the starting job coming out of [the] preseason. I thought he played well in preseason. I don't know what we need to learn about Mitch Trubisky, so I was happy to see [Pickett] out there (Sunday). I know everyone's talking about the interceptions. Two of them were off of the receivers and one of them was a Hail Mary. I'm not trippin' off that. You had to make a change. That offense was unbearable to watch, and if nothing else, you need to see what he's gonna develop into."

Pickett will have some work to do to get the Steelers out of the 1-3 hole they're in heading into Week 5. And so far, Pittsburgh is averaging 18.5 points (25th in NFL) and 278.8 yards (30th) per game this season.