Now's the Time to Bet Steelers QB Kenny Pickett in NFL Rookie of the Year Odds

The Pittsburgh Steelers and Mike Tomlin made it official Tuesday that rookie Kenny Pickett will be the team's starting quarterback in Week 5 against the Buffalo Bills.

Pickett came in for the Steelers in the second half of their loss to the New York Jets and sparked the offense a bit more than Mitch Trubisky, but he also threw three picks in his debut (one being a Hail Mary).

Pickett finished the day with 120 passing yards, going 10-for-13 with three interceptions and two rushing touchdowns. The Steelers took Pickett in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft, so it makes sense the team is turning things over to him with Trubisky struggling mightily to start the season.

At 1-3, Pittsburgh needs a spark, and Pickett could bring it with his dual-threat abilities. The question for bettors, is whether or not Pickett can compete for the league's Offensive Rookie of the Year award. Right now, he sits behind a few players at +800.

Latest Odds to Win NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year

Bet Kenny Pickett to Win Offensive Rookie of the Year

Whether bettors like it or not, may of these awards end up going to quarterbacks, especially since they have the opportunity to rack up major numbers. If Pickett can hold the job for the rest of the season, he will have 13 starts to make his case.

Right now, receivers Chris Olave, Drake London and Romeo Doubs lead the odds list, followed by running back Dameon Pierce. It took an all-time rookie season from Ja'Marr Chase to win this award last season, and three of the last six winners have been quarterbacks (Justin Herbert, Kyler Murray and Dak Prescott).

The concern for London and Olave is erratic quarteback play, as Marcus Mariota (with London in Atlanta) and any combination of Jameis Winston and Andy Dalton (with Olave in New Orleans) is about as underwhelming as it gets. For example, London made just two catches for 17 yards in Week 4 because the Falcons completely abandoned the passing game following a Mariota pick.

Meanwhile, some of the cases for those receivers are out of their hands. As for Doubs, he has looked much better in the last two games, but still only has just 19 catches for 184 yards on the season. To compare, Chase had 1,455 receiving yards last season, so Doubs has a long way to go to really put himself in the conversation.

Pierce may be the best candidate to challenge Pickett given bellcow role with the Houston Texans, but the Texans are also horrible, meaning he could see his touches limited by a negative game script at times.

Pickett can control his own destiny in a quarterback friendly award, and we know that team wins are going to help a quarterback more than any other position in the award circuit. If Pickett turns this team around, he's a great bet at +800.

Find Peter Dewey’s full betting record here.