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Steelers QB Kenny Pickett runs onto the field before the game against Green Bay at Acrisure Stadium on Sunday, Nov. 12, 2023.
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PFF grades: Who is the real Kenny Pickett? Metrics give mixed verdict

Lucy Schaly/Post-Gazette

PFF grades: Who is the real Kenny Pickett? Metrics give mixed verdict

Each week, the Post-Gazette will recap the most interesting Steelers player grades released by Pro Football Focus, the scouting website that evaluates players’ performance on every play of every game. For context, players are graded on a 0-100 scale.

Kenny Pickett (57.3) — The second-year quarterback has been under increased scrutiny as the Steelers’ running game has gotten on track the past couple of weeks without proportional progress in the passing game. The data returns a mixed verdict on whether Pickett is, in fact, the problem. His grade Sunday against Green Bay was not good, and he remains ranked toward the bottom of PFF’s QB rankings by grade. His season mark of 66.8 puts him 26th among QBs with at least 100 drop-backs. He has just eight big-time throws — rated among the best in the NFL in a given week — against seven turnover-worthy plays. And his 6.4 yards per attempt this season ranks 29th. In the preceding three games, however, Pickett did not post a score lower than 76.8. Since Week 5 against Baltimore, his 77.2 grade ranks 13th — ahead of names like Jacksonville’s Trevor Lawrence, the Los Angeles Chargers’ Justin Herbert and Washington’s Sam Howell, one of Pickett’s draft classmates. So which Pickett is the real Pickett? The coming weeks should tell the tale.

Patrick Peterson (74.9) — The veteran cornerback’s overall grade remains pretty bad at 57.9. And his coverage grade of 71.7 Sunday against Green Bay was his first to crack the 60 mark since Week 3. The good news? Peterson has done a better job of limiting opponents’ production of late. After allowing at least 30 yards when targeted in each of the first four games, he’s yielded that amount just twice since. He’s allowed 22 yards or fewer in three of the five games in that span. And his targets per game have dropped from 5.5 early on to 4.2 since, so the total picture suggests he’s settling into this defense. He may never resemble his Pro Bowl form of the past, but at least he’s not a glaring weak point like he was in the opening weeks, when he was frequently allowing nearly 100 passing yards when targeted per game.

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Darnell Washington (47.8 overall grade) — The rookie tight end certainly has his uses. His 78.9 pass blocking grade this season is the best on the team among linemen, running backs and tight ends. The problem is that he’s not doing much else well. His run blocking score of 49.6 is second-worst on the team, ahead of only Connor Heyward at 42.5. And he’s nearly a non-entity in the passing game with a microscopic yards per route run of 0.28. That puts him ahead of only reserve tight end Rodney Williams and at least a quarter-yard behind the rest of his teammates. Long story short: It would probably help the Steelers a lot of Pat Freiermuth, and not Washington, was getting the bulk of the snaps as the No. 1 tight end. Doesn’t mean Washington can’t be useful situationally, and it doesn’t mean he can’t develop into something better. For right now, though, he profiles as a very raw player better suited to a reserve role.

Green Bay Packers' Jayden Reed reacts after catching a touchdown pass during the first half of an NFL football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers Sunday, Nov. 12, 2023, in Pittsburgh.
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Keeanu Benton (46.6) — The coaching staff has seen enough in his small early sample sizes and on the practice field to elevate the second-round pick’s snap counts the past couple of weeks. The results in the pass-rushing categories have been solid. PFF gave him grades of 65.9 in Week 9 against Tennessee and 65.4 against Green Bay. The same can’t be said of his run defense, though. Even though he has four stops — which PFF defines as plays that result in failure for the opposing offense — his run defense scores were 48.1 against Tennessee and 30.6 against Green Bay. The Steelers are going to want to see that improve in the coming weeks if he’s going to continue to see in the neighborhood of 50 snaps per game.

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Adam Bittner: abittner@post-gazette.com and Twitter @fugimaster24.

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First Published: November 14, 2023, 2:56 p.m.

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