Pittsburgh Steelers WR George Pickens flashed as a rookie in 2022, going over 800 receiving yards while scoring five total TDs in his first season in the Black and Gold. He continued showcasing the ability to make acrobatic catches against contested coverage on a weekly basis in the NFL like he did during his time at Georgia, making the most difficult grabs look rather routine.
Still, Pickens had been knocked for his limited route tree for most of his rookie season, being told that he had to become a more nuanced route runner and do a better job creating yards after the catch in hopes of making a bigger impact in 2023.
QB Kenny Pickett mentioned during the offseason that Pickens specifically is working on becoming a better route runner, being able to have all those routes available in his arsenal to be a more well-rounded receiver. Through the first week of training camp, Pickett sees a night-and-day improvement from Pickens as a route runner from a season ago, becoming that alpha receiver the Steelers hoped he would be when they selected him in the second round of the 2022 NFL Draft.
“He’s definitely worked on his routes,” Pickett said, according to Teresa Varley of Steelers.com. “The full route tree he has, the crispness with his routes. He’s locked in mentally. He’s doing a good job learning the system and playing different spots, so we can move him around more, which is great.”
Last season, Pickens’ route tree was pretty limited, something that Matt Harmon of Reception Perception highlighted that had to change to have Pickens scratch the potential of what he could become as a receiver in the NFL as well as help Pittsburgh’s offense take the next step. Based on how the season ended with Pickens moving around the formation more and how training camp has started, signs are positive that Pittsburgh is trying to put more on Pickens’ plate in his second season.
Pickens mentioned recently in an interview that he feels like he can become the best wide receiver in the world given his size, athleticism, and skill set. While that may be a hot take for Pickens who is just entering Year two in the NFL, he definitely has the traits to become an impact player in the game for a long time. For Pickens to reach that level of greatness, his impact as a route runner as well as a YAC receiver needs to take a step forward. Based on what Pickett is saying thus far, it looks like Pickens has put in the work to again turn some heads this coming season.
