No need for a tour guide as Steelers introduce 'pretty special' 1st-round pick Kenny Pickett

When Kenny Pickett arrived at UPMC Rooney Sports Complex on Friday, he was ushered inside a part of the joint practice facility that was foreign to him.

For the past five seasons, when he was a quarterback at Pitt, he would walk through the door on the right side of the building’s security station.

This time, wearing a black T-shirt and Pittsburgh Steelers draft hat, he made sure to enter through the other side.

“Coming from right next door, walking into the building, I always peeked to the left side,” Pickett said after being introduced as the Steelers’ first-round draft pick. “Now, I’ll be calling this place home.”

Team president Art Rooney also referenced Pickett’s proverbial change of scenery.

“Usually I get to say to the individual, ‘Welcome to Pittsburgh,’” Rooney said to kick off the press conference. “Today, I get to say welcome to this side of the building. It’s a good feeling to be able to do that.”

The drafting of Pickett comes 39 years after the Steelers famously passed on Dan Marino, opting to take defensive lineman Gabe Rivera with the No. 21 pick. Six selections later, the Miami Dolphins took Marino, a Pro Football Hall of Famer who was the most prolific passer in Pitt history until Pickett broke many of his records.

“I’m glad they didn’t pass on me this year,” Pickett said. “I’ve talked to Dan a bunch. I’m going to continue to talk to him and use him as a resource.”

Rooney II said it was “pretty special” for the Steelers to get Pickett given his college resume.

“You all know the number of awards that Kenny has won, Heisman Trophy finalist,” Rooney said. “But, of course, you know team goals are the ones that count, and Kenny led his team to a championship this past season. And that’s what we’re looking for here — to win a championship.”

With the Steelers, Pickett’s work commute will be about 100 yards shorter than in his college years, as Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi noted.

“He gets to park in this lot,” Narduzzi said, referring to the lot that is nestled between the Rooney complex and the indoor practice facility. Pitt players park on the opposite side of the indoor field and have a longer walk.

“They won’t throw him out.”

Narduzzi thinks Pickett’s familiarity with Pittsburgh in general and the South Side in particular will work to the quarterback’s advantage. Other than finding a new apartment, Pickett won’t have to relocate far from his Oakland digs.

“He knows where he’s going,” Narduzzi said. “There’s not going to be this, ‘Where am I going to live?’ He knows the area. I pray it’s just the right situation.”

Pickett joins a quarterback room that includes Mason Rudolph and Mitch Trubisky. Coach Mike Tomlin said Pickett will be given a chance as a rookie to compete with the two veterans for the starting job that was vacated by Ben Roethlisberger’s retirement.

Pickett said he already had heard from Rudolph and Trubisky welcoming him to the organization. It wasn’t his first interaction with Trubisky, who signed a two-year deal with the Steelers in March.

“I don’t know if he remembered it, but my senior year he tried to recruit me to North Carolina,” Pickett said. “It’s kind of full circle. They are two great guys who I’m really excited to work with.”

Once the media obligations ceased, it completed a whirlwind 18 hours for Pickett. It began at his draft party in Loch Arbor, N.J., with his fiancée Amy Paternoster, parents, grandparents and close friends in attendance. He had to sit through 19 draft picks before the Steelers came calling, and he was the only quarterback among the 32 players chosen.

“Everybody that played a part in helping me get here was there,” Pickett said. “It was an awesome moment.”

After getting what he described as two or three hours of sleep, Pickett boarded a commercial flight to Pittsburgh, where he was greeted by cameras and a group of fans at Pittsburgh International Airport. He had the obligatory photo taken with the Franco Harris statue before being whisked to the South Side to meet with his new employer.

His next order of business will be making his first appearance at Heinz Field as a Steeler. That will take place Saturday for the team’s draft party.

Pickett said he politely declined the customary ride on the incline to Mt. Washington or dinner at Primanti Brothers – the treatment the Steelers give to out-of-town first-round picks.

“I was like ‘Yeah, I don’t need the tour,’” Pickett said, laughing. “When the new guys get here, I can show them around.”