(Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
According to BetMGM, Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett is the favorite to win Offensive Rookie of the Year at +500. Falcons wide receiver Drake London follows Pickett with +650 odds. Titans receiver Treylon Burks comes in at third with +750 odds.
Pickett +500
London +650
Burks +750
Garrett Wilson +800
Breece Hall +900
Christian Watson +900
Jameson Williams +1000
Kenneth Walker +1100
Chris Olave +1100
Skyy Moore +1100
Quarterbacks usually get the nod for OROY, so it makes sense that Pickett is the favorite. He was the only quarterback drafted in the first round and the Steelers selected him because they believe he's the most pro-ready quarterback. Pickett also turns 24 next month, so it's not unrealistic to expect him to start right away.
Mike Tomlin said on the "Rich Eisen Show" on Wednesday that Pickett will have a chance to compete for the starting quarterback position with Mitch Trubisky and Mason Rudolph.
"[Pickett] certainly has a chance [to be our Week 1 starter]," Tomlin said to Eisen. "I agree with that sentiment of his readiness from a professional perspective."
Tomlin also mentioned in his interview with Eisen that he was impressed by Pickett's ability to anticipate and his professional level accuracy. Tomlin said he's pro-ready in those two areas.
Tomlin isn't concerned about Pickett's 8.5-inch hands either, which was a big discussion throughout the draft process.
“I potentially was capable of buying into that if I didn’t watch him play college football in Pittsburgh and deal with the elements that come with playing in this environment,” Tomlin said. “So you can buy into the hand size thing or you can just look at how he performed in a variety of conditions, and we have those conditions in Pittsburgh. So there was very little speculation from our perspective about how he might handle the ball in inclement weather, wet days, etc. They played North Carolina on a Thursday night, I went to the game, it was raining pretty good that night and he had no issues.”
Departing Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert echoed Tomlin when asked about Pickett's small hands on the PFT PM podcast with Mike Florio.
“Honestly, I never paid attention to that,” Colbert said. “We look at the results. We watch Kenny play in our environment. ... Can he throw the football? Absolutely. Did he have an excessive fumble rate? No, he didn’t. We just judge it on how he played.”