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The Pittsburgh Steelers were looking for a replacement for Ben Roethlisberger during the 2022 offseason, as the future Hall of Famer retired after 18 seasons as Pittsburgh's starting quarterback.
The Steelers thought they found their long-term replacement for Roethlisberger during the 2022 NFL Draft when they selected Kenny Pickett with the No.20 overall pick in Round 1, but the Pittsburgh product quickly proved he wasn't the guy.
Though Pickett showed some promise in his rookie season, his play declined in 2023 during his second season, and he was replaced by Mason Rudolph at the end of the year. After a rough 2023 campaign, Pickett was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles, and won a Super Bowl as Jalen Hurts' backup in 2024.
Pickett is now set to play for his third team in just four seasons, as the Eagles traded him to the Cleveland Browns this offseason.
Pittsburgh's selection of Pickett in Round 1 of the 2022 draft will go down as one of the biggest mistakes in franchise history. However, in a re-draft done by Bleacher Report's Matt Holder, he has the Steelers taking Trent McDuffie instead of Pickett.
Again, the Steelers weren’t going to find a quality quarterback in the 2022 draft class. Instead, opting to improve the defense’s secondary would have been the smarter move, as McDuffie has earned All-Pro bids (one first-team, one second-team) in each of the last two seasons.
McDuffie has been an integral part of the Kansas City Chiefs' defense since entering the league as the No.21 overall pick in 2022, and he has established himself as the best slot corner in football. The 24-year-old was a first-team All-Pro selection in 2023 and earned second-team All-Pro honors in 2024.
Though he isn't a ball hawk, McDuffie, who was taken a pick after Pickett, has proven to be a shutdown corner and would be a cornerstone player right now for Pittsburgh if they would've made the correct selection.
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