While it may not be the biggest or most impactful trade by any means, the Kenny Pickett trade has to be one of (if not) the most eyebrow-raising deals of the 2024 NFL offseason. The Pittsburgh Steelers traded their 2022 first-round pick to the Philadelphia Eagles for two seventh-round selections and a Day 2 pick-swap. This is an intriguing deal for both sides, so let’s hand out some trade grades.
The Steelers make a Kenny Pickett trade after signing Russell Wilson
While the Kenny Pickett trade was shocking when it came down Friday afternoon, the writing was on the wall. Teams that believe in their young starting quarterbacks don’t go out and sign Russell Wilson.
It started even before that, though. Teams that believe in their young starting quarterbacks also don’t start a third-stringer like Mason Rudolph for the playoff push when said young QB comes back from injury fully healthy.
This is one of the quicker falls from graces in NFL history for a first-round QB.
The Steelers took Pickett with the 20th overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. In what many diagnosed as a bad college quarterback class, Pittsburgh was the only team to take a signal-caller in Round 1.
In fact, the next QB didn’t come off the board for another 54 picks as teams waited until Round 3 to take Desmond Ridder, Malik Willis, and Matt Corral.
Still, the Steelers made their choice and did give Pickett every chance to become the franchise QB, playing him four games into and starting him five games into his rookie campaign.
Pickett had a poor offensive line around him as a rookie and some drama with his receivers last season However, overall, the young QB has had a better team and organization around him than most first-round quarterbacks. That’s why he’s put up a winning 14-10 record over two seasons, but not with good stats to back those wins up.
The now-former Steelers QB has 4,474 passing yards, 13 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions in two NFL seasons.
The biggest issue that led to the Kenny Pickett trade, though, seems to be his attitude.
“The Steelers made the move because of the way Pickett was poorly handling the arrival of Russell Wilson, according to sources,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Steelers reporter Gerry Dulac reported Friday. “That came on the heels of Pickett's behavior last season when he refused to dress as the emergency third quarterback in Seattle in Week 17.”
Overall, this was probably a smart move if Mike Tomlin and company were worried about Pickett’s attitude affecting the team next year. The Steelers seem committed to getting rid of problematic, distracting players this offseason (see the Diontae Johnson trade), so they should get some credit for trying to make the locker room better.
That said, turning the No. 20 overall pick in a draft from two years ago into two seventh-rounders and a better mid-round pick is weak sauce.
GRADE: D
The Eagles get a high-end backup QB for next to nothing
On the Eagles’ side of Pennsylvania, the Kenny Pickett trade makes a lot of sense.
The team lost backup QB Gardner Minshew this offseason to the Las Vegas Raiders, so it needed someone to hold a clipboard for Jalen Hurts this coming season. They need a good one, too, as the Tush Push and Hurts’ overall style does increase his injury risk.
With even better teammates around him and (ostensibly) better offensive coaching than he got in Pittsburgh, Pickett should be one of the best backup QBs in the league, capable of coming in and winning games to keep the Eagles’ Super Bowl aspirations alive if Hurts goes down.
The Eagles gave up two seventh-round selections and their late third-round pick (No. 98) for Pickett and the Steelers mid-fourth-round pick (No. 120). I don’t have the famed Jimmy Johnson draft pick trade value chart in front of me, but I can tell you the picks the Eagles gave up don’t equal pick 20.
This was an excellent deal for the Eagles, who always like to invest in quarterbacks. At worst, they get a low-cost, quality backup for the next two seasons. If Pickett improves and has some success spelling Hurts, Philly could trade him for way more than they gave up. And there is still that minuscule chance that Pickett blossoms in the new city and becomes better than Hurts, a player picked 53rd in 2020.
No matter what happens, this is a low-risk potentially high-reward move from the Eagles. It is another example of general manager Howie Roseman taking advantage of a situation, which is why his team is having an excellent offseason so far.
GRADE: A
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