Mark Madden: Kenny Pickett doesn't close the Steelers' gap among AFC North quarterbacks

When Mike Tomlin got hired to coach the Steelers in 2007, he inherited Ben Roethlisberger. Until now, he’s never replaced his quarterback.

You can tell. He doesn’t know how to do it.

Kenny Pickett turns 24 on June 6. He started 49 games during his Blutarsky-esque tenure at Pitt. If he doesn’t start as a rookie, there was no point drafting him. His clock is ticking.

Pickett is just a year-and-a-half younger than Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson and Cincinnati’s Joe Burrow, both 25. Jackson has started 49 NFL games, Burrow 26.

How fast can Pickett close the gap on Jackson, Burrow and Cleveland’s Deshaun Watson, who is 26? Can he close it at all, even to a reasonable degree? The Steelers figure to be out-quarterbacked in the AFC North for years to come.

At his age, what’s Pickett’s ceiling? Has he reached it already? He went to Pitt, but that doesn’t make him the next Dan Marino. Here’s betting he’s the next Kirk Cousins (at best).

If Pickett does start as a rookie, there was no point signing Mitch Trubisky. Trubisky surely feels like he’s been worked.

Forget that nonsense about Pickett, Trubisky and even Mason Rudolph competing for the job at training camp. There aren’t enough practice snaps to go around. Have a better plan.

If the Steelers intended to draft a quarterback, they shouldn’t have signed Trubisky. Rudolph could have been the bridge QB. Given Pickett’s age, there’s no need for a bridge QB.

If Trubisky starts Week 1, he’s going to hear the noise every time he throws an incompletion, let alone an interception or when he loses a game: “PUT PICKETT IN! WHY ISN’T PICKETT PLAYING? PICKETT WENT TO PITT!” Ignoring that is easier said than done. (The pressure on Pickett comes later, if/when he starts to fail: Pitt guy playing for the Steelers, Marino comparisons, only quarterback selected in the first round, who else could they have taken, etc.)

Trubisky has more potential than Pickett, even at 27. He was the second pick overall in 2017. He’s three years older than Pickett and already has five years in the NFL. If Trubisky had been in this year’s draft, he’d have been the first quarterback selected.

But there wasn’t a quarterback worth taking in the first round, as evidenced by the fact that no others were. Not even Mr. Liberty Biberty.

Carolina’s coaching staff is on the precipice before the season even starts. The Panthers decided to take their chances with Sam Darnold rather than draft a quarterback at No. 6.

First-round picks need to have Pro Bowl potential. If that pick is 24, he needs to realize that potential sooner, not later. Is Pickett of that ilk? Not at first glance.

Pickett has small hands. That means something.

His draft stock dropped in the weeks prior. That means something.

Pickett is slow going through his reads and too often settles for throws underneath.

But Pickett isn’t without his good points. At 6-foot-3, he looks the part. Pitt’s offense makes his transition to the pros easier. He’s got a decent deep arm. He’ll take a hit to make a play.

Pickett would be an excellent second- or third-round pick. That’s exactly what he would be in next year’s draft, which will be flush with quarterbacks. He’d have been a fourth- or fifth-round pick in last year’s draft.

Pickett might do well. He’s a good story, going from Pitt to the Steelers.

But lots of good stories have disappointing endings.

My criticism aside, I’m grateful. Pickett’s selection by the Steelers is a major victory for my industry. #BestForBusiness