Now that the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 2023 season is getting underway after the team finished above .500 but failing to make the postseason last year, we turn our attention to the next chapter of Steelers football and everything that entails. One thing that it means is that some stock evaluations are going to start taking on more specific contexts as we get into the season, reflecting more immediate plusses and minus rather than trends over long periods. The nature of the evaluation, whether short-term or long-term, will be noted in the reasoning section below.
Player: WR George Pickens
Stock Value: Up
Reasoning: There weren’t a lot of positives to talk about on the offensive side of the ball, but the brightest spot was certainly second-year WR George Pickens. He had one of the best games of his young career with a big impact on an otherwise bad night for the unit.
In case anybody out there was still doubting the importance of George Pickens expanding his route tree and what that could do for his opportunities on the field, in quality and in quantity, just look at last night’s game. He’s not just a go-ball machine, and he wasn’t trapped into making contested circus catches. He made easy catches because he got open and then he made plays after the catch.
That’s the George Pickens Steelers fans should want to see. Let him make what he does look easy, even though it isn’t. Effortless effort. That’s what dominance actually looks like. You shouldn’t have to look like you’re performing miracles on a weekly basis. Just make the other guy look bad in your route and then outrun everyone when the ball is in your hands in the open field.
That’s what he did on his 71-yard catch-and-run touchdown. While he set up outside, he broke inside on a post pattern getting inside a very soft zone with Calvin Austin III running a complementary post (and then throwing a block) to help give him the space he needed to take it to the house.
Defenses around the league already respect what he did last year. They know they can’t be back on their heels, and they know virtually no ball thrown in his direction is uncatchable. He is going to make plays that he’s not supposed to make.
But now he’s making the plays that he is supposed to make. And that’s what should scare defenses even more. Week by week, I hope, we will continue to see a little bit more of the George Pickens of the future, the wide receiver who can beat you in a multitude of different ways and make it look easy.
But he wasn’t just one big play, though. He finished the day with four catches for 127 yards, adding three receptions beyond the one big play for another 56 yards. A 3-for-56 stat line used to be solid for him. Now it’s the bonus, the capper on a really strong day. And this could be just a glimpse of the kind of player he can be week in and week out.
