It was 39 years ago that the Pittsburgh Steelers and a multitude of other teams passed on Dan Marino in the 1983 NFL Draft. Even though the Steelers had a need for their next starting quarterback as Terry Bradshaw was nearing retirement, the team instead selected former Texas Tech defensive tackle Gabriel Rivera over Marino.

Heading into the 2022 NFL Draft, Kenny Pickett heard all about the talking points centering on why the Steelers should not make the same mistake they did with Marino. As he touched on during a press conference on Friday, Pickett is much pleased that the Steelers did not snub a University of Pittsburgh quarterback this time around.

“It’s special,” Pickett said. “I’m glad they didn’t pass on me this year. … I’ve talked to Dan a bunch.”

Pickett left behind a stout legacy at Pittsburgh that sure caught the attention of Steelers team officials.

For one, Pickett shattered multiple records previously held by Marino himself. He capped off his final campaign at Pittsburgh with 42 touchdown passes, moving him above Marino (37 in 1981) for the most in a single season in school history. More so, his 81 passing touchdowns over his career at Pittsburgh broke Marino’s school record of 79.

Pickett is set to battle it out with Mitchell Trubisky and Mason Rudolph to be the Steelers’ starting quarterback come Week 1 of the 2022 season. Plenty of high expectations are already set on him to show promise in his rookie campaign later this year.