Individually, star potential is there for Pittsburgh Steelers fifth-year wide receiver Diontae Johnson and second-year wide receiver George Pickens. Collectively though, that potential is through the roof.
Yet, ahead of the 2023 season, the duo is seemingly overlooked overall, likely because of the offense that they play in under third-year offensive coordinator Matt Canada. Last season, the Steelers averaged just 18.1 points per game and lacked explosiveness.
This year feels different overall coming out of training camp and the preseason, but Johnson and Pickens as a duo still seem overlooked.
Bleacher Report’s David Kenyon aims to change that. Kenyon listed the Johnson/Pickens duo as one of the NFL’s five most underrated pass catching duos in the league Sunday.
The first of two tandems with a second-year player, the Pittsburgh Steelers should be excited about the future of their offense,” Kenyon writes regarding Johnson and Pickens as an underrated duo. “Diontae Johnson is the experienced option, one who’s averaged 85 receptions and 911.5 yards across four seasons. He didn’t score a touchdown last year, oddly enough, but is presumably due for positive regression after attracting 147 targets in 2022.The rising star, though, is George Pickens. As a rookie, he reeled in 52 passes for 801 yards and four scores with a penchant for making some jaw-dropping catches.
“Johnson and Pickens both have 1,000-yard upside alongside young quarterback Kenny Pickett.”
The two fit very well together.
Johnson is the elite-level route runner, one that creates impressive separation with the ability to run every single route in the route tree. Though he didn’t score a touchdown last season, setting an NFL record for most receptions and targets without a touchdown, Johnson got open a ton and was a very difficult cover overall for every defensive back he faced.
Entering Year Two with quarterback Kenny Pickett, Johnson is in a good place, having developed a strong relationship with his signal caller and looks like he’s in for a monster season in 2023 for the Black and Gold.
Then there’s Pickens, the contested-catch monster that no defensive back can jump with or play the ball in the air against at this point in his career. When he’s one-on-one, Pickett is going to give him a chance with the football, and more often than not Pickens is going to make a play.
He came on strong in the second half of his rookie season, finishing with strong numbers overall (52 receptions, 801 yards, four touchdowns). He is still developing as a route runner and doesn’t have a full route tree at his disposal yet, and he struggles to create separation overall, but the contested catch abilities are rather absurd. Pickett trusts him immensely and Pickens rewards him much more often than not.
As Kenyon points out, the upside is there for both receivers to have 1,000 yards this season with Pickett entering Year Two. Should that happen, Pittsburgh’s offense should be able to break out in a massive way, putting the Steelers in contention.
All the focus might be on the young quarterback and a physical, emerging rushing attack, but the duo of Johnson and Pickens has the chance to be special. For now, they’re underrated across the NFL landscape. That won’t be the case for long.
