With the Steelers’ 2023 offseason underway following a disappointing season that came up just short of reaching the playoffs, it’s time to begin reloading, through the free agency process, through the draft, and perhaps even through trade.
This is now a young team on the offensive side of the ball, though one getting older on defense. Both sides could stand to be supplemented robustly, including in the trenches—either one. Changes have been made to the coaching staff, even if not all of the desired ones, as the roster continues to renew with the weeks ticking by.
These sorts of uncertainties are what I will look to address in our Buy or Sell series. In each installment, I will introduce a topic statement and weigh some of the arguments for either buying it (meaning that you agree with it or expect it to be true) or selling it (meaning you disagree with it or expect it to be false).
Topic Statement: George Pickens feeling “snubbed” for a Pro Bowl spot as a rookie is a good thing.
Explanation: A 2022 second-round pick, Pickens caught 52 passes as a rookie for 801 yards and four touchdowns, none of which ranked particularly high in the AFC last season. Still, he made some of the best plays in the NFL, particularly on deep balls, and is clearly confident in what he can do.
Buy:
Of course it’s a good thing. First of all, the history of great athletes is peppered with the psychology of the victim. Many of the best at their respective sports are as liable to invent a slight in their head as they are to accept a compliment.
The fact that Pickens believes he was passed over for the Pro Bowl simply means that he believes in himself and his talent. What he’s saying is take a good look at my tape if you want the full story about who I am and what I can do. Don’t just look at the stat sheet. The bottom line is the Pro Bowl is supposed to be the best of the best, so him feeling like he was unfairly passed over just means he sees himself in that tier, which is what you want.
Sell:
Let’s start with the obvious, which his that by no means was George Pickens a Pro Bowl-caliber player in 2022. Not only are his stats exceedingly pedestrian—certainly not entirely his fault given the state of the offense—he was also a very limited player whose contributions frequently relied on hero ball rather than being highlighted and supplemented by it.
Frankly, his comment that he felt snubbed is striking and odd—and not good. If he thought what he did last year was worthy of the Pro Bowl, then what does that say about his own standards? I would have been much more comfortable with him downing his rookie year and talking about Pro Bowl aspirations for 2023.
If he thinks he’s already a Pro Bowl player, then not only do you have to wonder about how well he understands how much work he has left to do, you also have to wonder about his mental makeup. He was already showing signs of frustration when he wasn’t getting targets last year, when he was rarely even open. Not even he is going to come up with a satisfactory percentage of 20-yard jump balls to justify targeting him 100-plus times.
