QB1 receives rookie honor: Quarterback Kenny Pickett was presented with the PNC Bank Joe Greene Great Performance Award at halftime, given annually to the team’s rookie of the year. Pickett was the 2022 winner of the honor, voted on by the Pittsburgh Chapter of the Pro Football Writers of America.
No rookie played a more significant role than quarterback Kenny Pickett, the Steelers No. 1 pick in the 2022 NFL Draft out of the University of Pittsburgh.
“I want to thank PNC for this honor. I don’t take it lightly,” said Pickett at halftime. “I want to thank Mr. (Art) Rooney, Kevin (Colbert), Omar (Khan) and Coach (Mike) Tomlin for giving me the opportunity to be a Steeler and stay in Pittsburgh. I want to thank my coaches, teammates, and my family who is here. I appreciate all the support throughout my life and last season. And finally, thank you to the fans. I can’t wait to play for you again this season.
Pickett stepped in as the team’s quarterback at halftime of the Week 4 game against the New York Jets and never looked back.
He completed 245 of 389 pass attempts for 2,404 yards and seven touchdowns in 13 games, starting 12 of them. He has also carried the ball 55 times for 237 yards and three touchdowns, including mastering the quarterback sneak.
The other thing he mastered is fourth quarter game-winning drives, coming through with back-to-back efforts in Week 16 and Week 17. In doing so, Pickett became the first rookie in NFL history to have a game-winning touchdown pass in the final minute in back-to-back games.
In Week 16, Pickett led the Steelers to a 13-10 win over the Raiders on a fourth quarter drive that ended with a 14-yard touchdown pass to George Pickens. The Steelers got the ball back with 2:55 on the clock and down 10-6, when Pickett engineered a 10-play, 76-yard drive, completing seven passes for 75 yards and on fourth-and-one getting the yard himself on a quarterback sneak to set up the touchdown.
Against the Ravens in Week 17, Pickett took the Steelers on an 11-play, 80-yard drive, in 3:20 that culminated in a 10-yard touchdown pass to Najee Harris. He showed veteran poise, with no panic at all, completing a 20-yard pass to tight end Pat Freiermuth and a 28-yard strike to Steven Sims on the drive.
The Joe Greene Great Performance Award was established in 1984 and named after the legendary Hall of Famer.
Travis Burnett
A pioneer in the flag football community, Travis helped co-found the Flag Football World Championship Tour, FlagSpin and USA Flag. Featuring 15+ years of content creation for the sport of flag football, creating and managing the largest flag football tournaments on the planet, coaching experience at the youth and adult level as well as an active player with National and World Championship level experience.
