The Pittsburgh Steelers have been a relatively ordinary team the last two years. They did not make the playoffs in 2022, and while they did in 2021, they were defeated in the Wild Card round of the playoffs. However, as quarterback Kenny Pickett enters his second season in the NFL, head coach Mike Tomlin has great expectations.

Tomlin appeared on the Rich Eisen show Thursday, and he did not hold back about his quarterback. “I expect him to kill it. This is his second lap around the track and he's no longer speculating on what the business is about and what the job demands. He has all that experience, so I just think it's reasonable to have significant growth, to have more input and to lead effectively.”

The Steelers have not had any postseason success since the 2016 season when they made it to the conference championship. Since then, they have made it into the postseason 3 out of 6 years, but they have not won a playoff game.

If Pickett is able to grow into the position the way Tomlin expects him to, the Steelers should be able to return to the postseason and possibly win a playoff game or more.

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Ben Roethlisberger surrounded by piles of cash.

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Steelers coach Mike Tomlin with quarterbacks Russell Wilson and Justin Fields

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San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk next to the logo for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Both are surrounded by question marks.

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Pickett appeared to grow as his rookie season progressed. The Steelers closed the year by winning their last 4 games to finish 9-8, turning what could have been a disaster into a winning year.

Kenny Pickett was the starting quarterback for the Steelers in 12 games, and his team won 7 of his starts. He completed 63 percent of his passes, and it seems quite reasonable that he can improve his 7-9 touchdown to interception ratio significantly.