Mark Madden: Kenny Pickett may be playing well enough to be the Steelers' starter, but is it too risky?

The Steelers played in (and lost) Super Bowl XXX. The following season, 1996, saw them replace their quarterback. Neil O’Donnell left via free agency.

There was competition at training camp for the QB job. Jim Miller won it, beating out vet Mike Tomczak and second-year pro Kordell Stewart, a fan favorite via his “Slash” role.

Miller was an underdog: A mere sixth-round pick out of Michigan State in 1994.

But Miller won the job.

He just didn’t it keep it very long.

Miller was pulled during the Steelers’ first game. Tomczak started the rest of the season.

That situation doesn’t have much relevance to the Steelers’ current one. Unless it does.

Mitch Trubisky is the starter. He was the second pick overall in 2017.

Kenny Pickett was the 20th choice in this year’s draft.

Mason Rudolph was a third-round selection in 2018.

The Steelers quarterbacks all have some degree of pedigree.

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If the “competition” in the current preseason is legit, Trubisky hasn’t played poorly enough to lose it. Pickett may be playing well enough to win it. At one point, Rudolph was performing best. He is still performing fine.

Trubisky has the job.

But will he keep it very long?

It was odd when Pickett played just eight snaps in Saturday’s preseason game at Jacksonville. It felt like coach Mike Tomlin was protecting Pickett against injury. (That’s quite reasonable considering the Steelers offensive line again looks horrific.)

Pickett’s a rookie. He needs experience. Why didn’t he play longer?

The plan is for Trubisky to start Week 1. But could Pickett’s performance talk Tomlin into starting Pickett soon? Could Trubisky turn out to be a latter-day Miller?

It feels like change is afoot.

Or perhaps they played Rudolph the whole second half to showcase him for a trade.

Bad idea. As mentioned previously in this space, the Steelers will need three quarterbacks this season.

The offensive line is awful. Left tackle Dan Moore Jr. is a turnstile. Kendrick Green went from being a bad center to being a bad left guard. Right guard James Daniels has been disappointing.

Guard/tackle John Leglue is a journeyman ham-and-egger. If performance counts, he should start. Leglue isn’t that good, but plenty of others are worse.

Pickett hasn’t outperformed Trubisky and Rudolph by much. Pickett’s passer rating in the preseason is 138.6. Trubisky’s is 108.5, Rudolph’s 106.3.

All performances should be taken with a grain of salt: They came against the NFL’s 20th- and 28th-ranked defenses last season. (Detroit is next. The Lions defense was ranked 29th.) They also came in preseason games.

The citizens want Pickett. Tomlin becomes more of a populist all the time.

The quarterback “battle” has obscured the Steelers’ other problems. They are great, and they are many.

The offensive line obviously is rotten. The Steelers rushed 14 times for 24 yards on Saturday. Eleven of those yards came on a carry by a receiver. (To be fair, top back Najee Harris hasn’t played in the exhibitions.)

The situation at inside linebacker also reeks. Devin Bush and Robert Spillane both have looked dismal. As with Leglue on the offensive line, perhaps rookie Mark Robinson should be brought into the competition. Robinson was a seventh-round pick, but he has one impeccable qualification: He isn’t Bush or Spillane. Robinson has performed decently.

Same goes for Damontae Kazee at safety. He has looked good. Why not play him? (“Why not?” is generally the siren song of the desperate. It applies to the Steelers.)

But writing about the quarterback is sexier. When in doubt, write about the quarterback.

Praise for Pickett is gushing. Context and brevity are ignored.

Does Pickett have the “it” factor, whatever that is? It’s too early to conclude that.

Pickett makes good decisions on the move and hasn’t yet been rattled. Pickett takes command. Those are good signs.

But once upon a time, Jim Miller also looked good in the preseason.

Media such ESPN’s Robert Griffin III (a former QB) and CBS’ Pete Prisco clamor for Pickett to start now.

But that’s because they’ve seen tape of Pickett. They haven’t watched video of Moore.

There’s a bigger picture, especially given that the Steelers are unlikely to make the playoffs.

There’s also optics to consider. If Trubisky starts Week 1, then the Steelers go to Pickett at some point, even soon, it’s seen as inevitable progression. If Pickett starts Week 1, then the Steelers go to Trubisky, it seems like Pickett failed.