ESPN makes prediction on Pittsburgh Steelers over/under following schedule release
ESPN has made its over/under win total projections all 32 NFL teams for the 2022 season following the last month’s NFL Draft, predicting that the now Ben Rothlisberger-less Pittsburgh Steelers’ win total over/under is set at 7.5.
“For the Steelers to hit the over, they’ll need the quarterback situation to be settled – and quickly,” ESPN’s Brooke Pryor wrote. “Whether that’s Kenny Pickett starting from the beginning and deftly adjusting to the NFL learning curve or Mitch Trubisky commanding Matt Canada’s offense, whoever takes over the starting job will have to hit the ground running, literally.”
Most teams that see a two-time Super Bowl-winning franchise quarterback like Rothlisberger leave, their respective organizations are likely to experience a down year. It happened to the Colts with Peyton Manning and most recently the Patriots when Tom Brady decided to leave his longtime franchise, so projecting seven wins for head coach Mike Tomlin and company is a testament to how important the headman is for the Steelers’ franchise.
The biggest question that Tomlin has to answer is who will he put under center to replace Rothlisberger. As Pryor mentioned, it’s either Pickett, the rookie first round draft pick, or Trubisky, the failed Chicago Bears starter turned Buffalo Bills backup.
With most coaches weary of starting a rookie quarterback right off the bat, Tomlin hasn’t ruled out Pickett’s chances of being the Steelers starter come September.
“Yeah he certainly has a chance … We felt he came ready and hopefully that’s an asset to him being ready — if performance dictates,” Tomlin said during on Day 3 of the NFL Draft.
In five seasons with the Panthers, Pickett appeared in 52 games, throwing for 12,303 yards with 81 touchdowns and 32 interceptions while completing 62.4 percent of his passes before electing to enter the 2022 NFL Draft. It wasn’t until his super senior season where he set himself apart as a first-round prospect, finishing as a Heisman Trophy finalist while completing 334 of his 497 passes for 4,319 yards, 42 touchdowns and just seven interceptions
Pickett wants the starting job, and wants to have the immediate impact felt by the last two first round draft picks that have joined the Steelers’ offensive ranks in running back Najee Harris (2021) and wide receiver Chase Claypool (2020).
With the losses of Rothlisberger (QB), JuJu Smith-Schuster (WR) and James Conner (RB) at the same three postions, Pittsburgh has lost the majority of its offensive production they relied so heavily on over the past five or so seasons.
A new era is underway in the Steelers organization, and while a complete fall from grace isn’t expected, according to ESPN’s win total projections, it might take a season or three for the young, new-look Pittsburgh Steelers to start clicking.