Kenneth Pickett (born June 6, 1998) is an American professional football quarterback for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Pittsburgh Panthers, winning the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, ACC Player of the Year, and ACC Athlete of the Year between 2021 and 2022. Pickett was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the first round of the 2022 NFL draft, spending two seasons as the primary starter and helping the team clinch a playoff appearance in 2023. Due to inconsistent play, he was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles, where he spent one season as a backup and was a member of the team that won Super Bowl LIX. He joined the Las Vegas Raiders as a backup the following year before signing with the Panthers in 2026.
Pickett was born in the Oakhurst section of Ocean Township, New Jersey. He attended Ocean Township High School and graduated in 2017. Pickett led the Ocean Township Spartans to the New Jersey Central Group III semifinal game as a junior, leading his team to a 9–2 record. 247Sports ranked Pickett as the No. 23 overall high school football player in New Jersey in his senior year. During his high school career, Pickett passed for 4,670 yards with 43 touchdowns and rushed for 873 yards and 17 touchdowns. He originally committed to play college football at Temple University, but changed his commitment to the University of Pittsburgh.
Pickett spent most of his true freshman season at Pittsburgh in 2017 as a backup to Max Browne and Ben DiNucci. He started his first career game in Pittsburgh's final game of the season against the second ranked Miami Hurricanes. During the team's upset victory, Pickett completed 18-of-29 passes for 193 yards with a touchdown and also rushed for 60 yards and two touchdowns. He finished the season completing 39-of-66 passes for 509 yards, a touchdown, and an interception.
Pickett returned as Pittsburgh's starter in 2018. He started all 14 games, completing 180-of-310 passes for 1,969 yards, 12 touchdowns, and six interceptions. Pickett led Pittsburgh to their first ever Atlantic Coast Conference Coastal Division Championship in his first season as the full-time starter. The Associated Press ranked the Panthers as high as the No. 24 team in the country at one point in the 2018 season. The Panthers lost 14–13 to the Stanford Cardinal in the Sun Bowl.
Pickett remained the starter in 2019, making 12 starts and missing one game due to injury. He completed 289-of-469 passes for 3,098 yards, 13 touchdowns, and nine interceptions. This was Pickett's first season with Mark Whipple acting as the offensive coordinator, who increased the amount of passes the offense threw each week. Pickett led the Panthers to a 7–5 record heading into the postseason. The Panthers were selected to the 2019 Quick Lane Bowl in Detroit and defeated the Eastern Michigan Eagles 34–30. Pickett threw for 361 yards and three touchdowns, including a game winning touchdown to wide receiver Taysir Mack in the final minutes of the game.
Pickett and the Panthers played in a shortened season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, finishing with a 6–5 record. Pickett played in nine games and threw for 2,408 yards, 13 touchdowns, and nine interceptions in that stretch. The Associated Press ranked the Panthers as high as the No. 21 team in the country at one point in the 2020 season. Despite being eligible for a bowl game, the Panthers collectively opted out of participating in the postseason.
The NCAA granted all 2020 fall athletes an extra year of eligibility, and Pickett used this option to return as the Panthers' starting quarterback in 2021.
Pickett took advantage of his final year of eligibility and broke out as one of the nation's top players. Pickett recorded 4,319 yards and 42 touchdowns setting school records for single season yards and touchdowns as well as career yards and touchdowns. He was named a first-team All-American and was a finalist for the Heisman Trophy, finishing in third place. Pittsburgh won the ACC Championship and finished 11–2 in games Pickett started, the school's best record since 1976. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in marketing and enrolled at Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business. Pickett was also named the men's ACC Athlete of the Year across all sports, sharing honors with women's recipient Charlotte North of Boston College lacrosse.
Pickett's hands, which were measured at 8½ inches, are the smallest hand size measurement for a quarterback. Various journalists prior to the draft scrutinized Pickett's hand size, with some believing that it could make him more prone to fumbling the ball. Pickett had downplayed the importance of the matter, saying that concerns came more frequently from reporters than NFL teams. "Whatever it measures, it measures", Pickett added at the NFL Scouting Combine.
Pickett was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the first round (20th overall) of the 2022 NFL draft, the highest the Steelers selected a quarterback since drafting Ben Roethlisberger in 2004; the selection was announced by Steelers' legend Franco Harris in one of his last public appearances with the team before his unexpected death on December 20, 2022. With the starting quarterback position wide open following Roethlisberger's retirement, Pickett was named the backup quarterback for the Steelers behind starter Mitchell Trubisky. Initially, Pickett was designated as the team’s third-string quarterback behind both Trubisky and veteran Mason Rudolph, but head coach Mike Tomlin would adjust the depth chart to put Pickett in the backup role citing a "clerical error" with the original depth chart.
Pickett made his NFL debut in the second half of a Week 4 loss against the New York Jets after Trubisky was benched. Pickett completed 10-of-13 passes for 120 yards and rushed for two touchdowns, but threw three interceptions in the 24–20 loss. On his first career pass attempt, Pickett threw a deep ball to wide receiver Chase Claypool that was intercepted by safety Jordan Whitehead. On his second drive, Pickett scored his first NFL touchdown on a one-yard rush.
On October 4, Pickett was named the starter by head coach Tomlin. In his first career start against the Buffalo Bills, Pickett completed 34-of-51 passes for 327 yards and an interception during the 38–3 road loss. The following week against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Pickett threw his first touchdown pass to running back Najee Harris, but he exited the narrow 20–18 victory during the third quarter with a concussion.
During Week 14, in a narrow 16–14 loss to the Baltimore Ravens, Pickett once again suffered a concussion. He was ruled out for Week 15 against the Carolina Panthers, but started in Week 16 against the Las Vegas Raiders. Pickett threw a game-winning 14-yard touchdown to wide receiver George Pickens with under a minute left and finished the 13–10 victory with 244 passing yards, the aforementioned touchdown, and an interception.
During Week 17 against the Ravens, Pickett threw the game-winning touchdown with under a minute left for the second consecutive game; a 10-yard pass to Harris. Pickett finished the 16–13 road victory with 168 passing yards and the touchdown, keeping the Steelers' playoff hopes alive. Pickett became the first rookie quarterback in NFL history to throw a game-winning touchdown in the final minute of the fourth quarter in two consecutive games.
Pickett finished his rookie season with 2,404 passing yards, seven touchdowns, and nine interceptions, to go along with 55 carries for 237 yards and three touchdowns in 13 games with 12 starts. On March 13, 2023, the game ball from the Steelers' victory over the Las Vegas Raiders was put on display in the Professional Football Hall of Fame.
During Week 3 against the Raiders, Pickett threw for 235 yards and two touchdowns in the 23–18 road victory, marking his first professional game with multiple touchdown passes. In the next game against the Houston Texans, Pickett completed 15-of-23 passes for 114 yards and an interception before leaving the eventual 30–6 road loss in the third quarter with a bone bruise. Three weeks later against the Los Angeles Rams, Pickett had 230 passing yards and scored his first rushing touchdown of the season on a quarterback sneak in the 24–17 road victory.