Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Kenny Pickett was a disaster last year, but Pickett still clearly thinks he's elite.
Kenny Pickett’s career has been in free fall for several years now, and the former Las Vegas Raiders backup quarterback is now with the Carolina Panthers with his career basically on life support.
That means Pickett needs to use his mouth along with his arm to boost his chances after signing with the Panthers, and his initial comments proved that he’s more than up for the task as he compared himself to Panthers’ starter Bryce Young in a piece written by Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk.
“I think [Bryce and I are] very similar in how we play," Pickett said, via Kassidy Hill of Panthers.com. “I think we both operate well from the pocket, and when things break down, we can make plays on the move. I think Coach [Dave Canales] does a lot of things play action-wise, boots, you get out on the edge, and we both can throw the ball well on the run.”
This sounds like the kind of quote that should be accompanied by a laugh track, but apparently Pickett was serious. He’s flunked every second chance he’s been given since the Pittsburgh Steelers drafted him in the first round back in 2022, and it’s hard to look at him as anything more than a career clipboard-holder at this point.
Someone with some PR expertise probably should have stuffed a sock in Pickett’s mouth at that point, but for some reason he decided to keep going with the comparison.
“I think we kind of complement each other in what we do,” Pickett added. “We’re excited to learn more about how he sees things, talk X’s and O’s, and get to know him better as a person first. But yeah, I think it’s definitely exciting being in a room where you feel like we kind of play the same way and we kind of, the same mold of what they’re looking for here.”
It’s easy to forget now, but Pickett finished third in the voting for the Heisman Trophy back when Young won it at Alabama. They spent time together when they were competing for that award, and Pickett says a friendship developed.
“He’s a great guy, I really respect him, his game, and what he’s done so far in his career,” Pickett said. “Just looking forward to adding another element to the quarterback room, and you know. Championship. That’s the goal.”
What Pickett should be focused on is rehabilitating his own career. Canales has somehow turned Young from a bust to a successful starter who got the Panthers in the playoffs this year, and Pickett has put so much bad tape out there for evaluators that his goal should be to play well in the preseason and be ready if Young gets hurt.