Steelers’ Kenny Pickett, 49ers’ Brock Purdy a matchup of 1st QB vs. last player taken in ‘22 draft
Share this post:
Each started four years at quarterback for a Power Five college, breaking myriad school records along the way while lifting their programs to heights not seen in decades. Each, too, was eligible for the 2022 draft.
Kenny Pickett and Brock Purdy also had success as rookie NFL quarterbacks, and they will face each other in the season opener Sunday.
Where the similarities end between the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Pickett and the San Francisco 49ers’ Purdy, though, is where each was drafted. While Pickett was the top quarterback selected, Purdy was the final player picked at 262nd overall.
Former Pitt star Pickett said this week that he got to know Iowa State alumnus Purdy when the two were assigned to the same group at the NFL combine in February 2022.
“We got to talk a little bit,” Pickett said this week during preparations for Sunday’s 1 p.m. game at Acrisure Stadium. “Brock’s a great guy (who is) having a ton of success. Happy for him. Definitely looking forward to opening up the season against him.”
The statistical similarities between Pickett and Purdy during college are remarkable.
Between 2018-21, Pickett went 32-17 as a starter with 12,303 yards while accounting for 102 touchdowns in leading Pitt to a pair of Coastal Division titles and the 2021 ACC championship.
Over those same four college seasons, Purdy went 30-17 as a starter with 12,170 passing yards while accounting for 100 touchdowns.
Each also began his rookie NFL seasons as a backup but was among the NFL’s best quarterbacks come the home stretch of the season: Pro Football Focus over the final five weeks of last season graded Pickett the best and Purdy the fifth-best of 44 qualifying passers.
While Pickett’s Steelers narrowly missed out on the playoffs, Purdy continued his run with two postseason wins in the two full games he played, posting a 109.8 passer rating in that time until an elbow injury knocked him out of the NFC championship game.
Not bad for a kid who had to impress just to make the team and began the regular season as the No. 3 QB.
Purdy’s surprising performance as a rookie could open the door for more teams to be willing to take a late-round chance in next week’s draft on other successful college quarterbacks who might lack the elite size or arm strength. https://t.co/90AEEVkMI9
— Tribune-Review Sports (@TribSports) April 18, 2023
“He’s a really good quarterback,” Steelers defensive coordinator Teryl Austin said. “He’s obviously exceeded a lot of expectations. You watch a guy that’s played a lot of college football with a lot of starts under his belt. He has a lot of moxie. There’s not a lot of things that get him rattled. He doesn’t panic in situations.
“He knows what to do with the ball. He knows when he has a good play; he knows when he doesn’t have a good play. Sometimes that’s the biggest thing. He gets rid of the ball if he has to. He knows how to get the ball to the right guys, then boom, they take it from there. I think what I like about him is I like all those things. He is a really solid young guy on the rise.”
So, of course, is Pickett. No matter the route to get there, Pickett and Purdy have compelled the arrow to point up for their organizations.
“I imagine (Purdy’s) growth and development in that (late-season) experience has him and them ready to take another step,” Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said, “just like we are with our young quarterback.”
Hey, Steelers Nation, get the latest news about the Pittsburgh Steelers here.