Talk to any Pittsburgh Steelers fan and they won’t hesitate letting you know how they feel about the current quarterback of the team. Kenny Pickett is mostly beloved by the fan base, but many fans question his capabilities to be “the guy” for the franchise like his predecessor Ben Roethlisberger.

While local media, and the Steelers fan base, have been raving over Pickett’s progress and overall abilities this offseason/training camp, it has been pretty quiet on the national media front as it pertains to No. 8 of the Steelers.

Well until now.

A national media source who travels around to watch all NFL training camps was asked if there were any players who have surprised him and look good. His answer was Kenny Pickett.

“He’s the best quarterback I’ve seen.” the source said.

But the compliments didn’t stop there, this national media pundit, who chose to remain anonymous, went on to say if Pickett continues on this trajectory, he’d take Pickett over Ben Roethlisberger in his prime.

Those are lofty expectations for any quarterback, especially the quarterback who is tasked with replacing Roethlisberger as the team’s quarterback. Nonetheless, it is important to note there are people around the league who are seeing Pickett as a future star, and not just a placeholder at the position.

While the Steelers fan base has been raving over Pickett since he stepped on the field in Week 4 vs. the New York Jets in Week 4 last year, it seems national media are starting to jump on board as well.

However, this is all hype right now, and it will be up to Pickett and the Steelers offense to go out and prove he is worthy of the praise. That he is capable of being mentioned in the upper echelon of quarterbacks not just in the AFC North, but the entire NFL.

Will he take that next step? Friday’s performance, while brief, was a great first step, but there is plenty left to prove and the Buffalo Bills are next on the docket for Pickett and the Steelers. It’s safe to assume Pickett will likely play more in Week 2 of the preseason than in Week 1, so fans should be excited to watch more of this new-look Matt Canada offense unfold in front of our very eyes.

I talked about this very topic on my Monday “Let’s Ride” podcast, which can be heard in the podcast player below. Be sure to stay tuned to SCN for the latest news and notes surrounding the Steelers as they prepare for the rest of the preseason and wrap up training camp.