It was just two years ago when, at the NFL Scouting Combine, the Pittsburgh Steelers had Kenny Pickett on their mind. At that point in time, the Steelers were searching for the heir apparent to Ben Roethlisberger, who had been Pittsburgh's starting quarterback since 2004.

Pickett, a standout at Pitt and the third-place finisher in the Heisman Trophy vote in 2021, seemed like the logical successor, despite his small hands and below-average Wonderlic score. Pittsburgh selected Pickett with the 20th pick in the 2022 NFL Draft.

Pickett has started 12 games in each of his first two NFL seasons. In each of those seasons, he's led the Steelers to a 7-5 record.

A 14-10 record may not seem like too much of an issue for a quarterback in his first two seasons in the league. The problem here is that Pickett's total number of wins (14) is just one higher than his total number of passing touchdowns (13).

For his career, Pickett has thrown for 4,474 yards, 13 touchdowns and 13 interceptions in 24 games. That simply isn't good enough to win at a high level over a sustained period of time in the NFL.

In the 1990s and early 2000s, maybe it would've been fine. Pickett could've rode an elite Steelers defense for half a decade. But in today's NFL game, you can't survive a long stretch with a quarterback that's putting up the numbers that Pickett has.

Yet, two years later, the talk around the NFL Scouting Combine is that Pickett could get another shot for the Steelers in 2024.

“Even as they sort out their quarterback outlook, the Steelers have started the process of rebuilding third-year passer Kenny Pickett,” writes ESPN's Jeremy Fowler. “I'm told new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith recently spent time with Pickett in South Florida and that the two had a ‘great' meeting.

“The sentiment among many here in Indy — including some with the team — was that Pickett could get another chance after a disastrous 2023 season due in part to the offense's overall struggles under then-OC Matt Canada. Smith should help maximize Pickett's skill set. There's also little doubt Pittsburgh will bring in quarterback competition, which could spark a Mason Rudolph re-signing.”

I don't know why there would be such faith in Arthur Smith to “maximize Pickett's skill set,” when he so badly mismanaged the quarterback situation during his time as the head coach in Atlanta. Maybe the issue there is that Smith had too much on his plate with the Falcons.

In Smith's final year as the offensive coordinator in Tennessee, Ryan Tannehill did have the best season of his NFL career, so perhaps there's hope for the Smith/Pickett partnership.

The Steelers have reportedly been in the mix too for Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields, who may soon be on his way out of the Windy City with the Bears expected to select USC quarterback Caleb Williams for the first overall pick. Kirk Cousins has been rumored as a potential option for the Steelers too.