After pulling off a thrilling upset victory in Week 1 over their division rivals in the Cincinnati Bengals to open their 2022 season, not much has gone right for the Pittsburgh Steelers. That culminated with their starting quarterback, Mitchell Trubisky, getting benched after halftime in Pittsburgh's Week 4 contest against the New York Jets. The guy replacing him was 2022 first-round pick Kenny Pickett.

The hope was that Trubisky would play well enough this season to allow Pickett time to develop behind the scenes. But Trubisky struggled mightily to open the season, and after another lackluster half against the Jets, head coach Mike Tomlin had seen enough. Pickett turned a 10-6 deficit into a 20-10 lead, but the defense couldn't hold onto the lead, and Pittsburgh ended up losing 24-20.

Heading into their Week 5 matchup against the Buffalo Bills, the Steelers depth chart has Pickett leading the way. While that's big news for the Steelers, it's also big news for fantasy football owners, as Pittsburgh has a lot of strong offensive weapons who could help Pickett succeed. With Pickett in line to be Pittsburgh's starting quarterback, let's take a look at his fantasy football outlook for the rest of the season.

Kenny Pickett fantasy football outlook

Heading into the season, there wasn't much hope that Trubisky would be a viable fantasy football quarterback option. He hadn't been much of anything in the fantasy world to open his career, and while the Steelers had strong weapons for him to use, there wasn't much reason to believe Trubisky would be much better. And after seven halves of football, he finds himself in a familiar spot on the bench.

There's no guarantee that Kenny Pickett will be any better, but he can't really be much worse. Pickett's performance in the second half against the Jets (10/13, 120 YDS, 3 INT) wasn't exactly good, but he still managed to give the Steelers a lead after Trubisky did next to nothing in the first half. It's also worth noting that Pickett scored both of Pittsburgh's touchdowns on the day on the ground himself.

From a fantasy football perspective, Pickett has some upside. He showed a willingness to push the ball downfield in a way that Trubisky was unable to do, which should help at least open up the field for him. Pickett has strong options to throw to, with Diontae Johnson, Chase Claypool, George Pickens, and Pat Freiermuth all being talented pass catchers. Just like Trubisky, he will have the tools needed to succeed.

The question is whether or not he will be able to differentiate himself from Trubisky. Pickett showed an ability to move the ball down the field, but he allowed the Jets to slip back into the game with his three interceptions. Admittedly, one came on the final play of the game, but still, Pickett is going to have to cut those turnovers out if he wants to have any value in fantasy leagues.

It's no secret that right now, Pickett has little to no fantasy value. In fantasy football, you need consistent scoring from the quarterback position in order to win; Pickett is currently anything but consistent. Considering the fact he's making his first start of his career against a vaunted Bills defense, things could get ugly.

But Pickett isn't a bad option to stash on your bench in case he breaks out. It probably won't happen in Week 5, but again, the Steelers have everything other than a quarterback needed to put together a strong offense this season. If Pickett can get himself acquainted with running the offense and going up against NFL caliber defenses, there's a chance things could turn around in Pittsburgh.

Adding Pickett to your roster as Week 5 rolls around is probably a bit premature. He showed some value as a runner against the Jets, but those interceptions took away most of the good he did on the ground. Considering the fact that many fantasy owners already have a starting quarterback, and in some cases a backup too, adding Pickett right now just doesn't make a lot of sense.

Until Pickett proves his worth from a fantasy perspective, there's no sense adding him to your team. Even if he performs well, many owners probably aren't going to be in a rush to add an unproven quarterback to their bench over someone they already have. If you desperately need a quarterback, there are other options available in most leagues who offer way more than Pickett does.

Pickett has upside, but there's a very strong chance that he won't offer much from a fantasy perspective this season. If he figures things out, chances are you will be able to add him because nobody is really going to be in a rush to pick him up. But as of right now, Kenny Pickett hasn't done anything to stand out among other free agent fantasy quarterbacks, and until he does, there's no sense adding him to your team.