It’s been a rather trying second season in the NFL for Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver George Pickens, even with an increase in numbers compared to his rookie season.
He’s had his frustrations with the lack of targets at times as well as the below-average quarterback play. His effort has waned, too, and he hasn’t handled the criticism well. He’s also seen a decline in one key metric that he was dominant at in his rookie season: contested catches.
Despite that, ESPN’s Matt Bowen named Pickens the NFL’s best receiver at 50-50 balls in a piece for ESPN.com Wednesday night.
“Pickens has caught five of 13 targets on vertical tight-window throws this season, with 13 of 25 over his two years in the league (NFL Next Gen Stats),” Bowen writes regarding Pickens. “He tracks the ball vertically and adjusts to finish plays at the catch point.”
Historically, Pickens does track the football well and he has elite-level body control, able to twist and contort to make some rather remarkable plays on the football. He made a name for himself as a rookie doing that consistently, dominating in the air for the Steelers, making magic happen at times for an offense that seemed stuck in neutral far too often.
The biggest knock on Pickens entering Year Two centered on his struggles to create separation. He’s made some improvements there overall and created plenty more yards after catch this season, sitting at 253 on the year compared to just 110 as a rookie.
But while he’s seen improvement in some areas of his game, he’s declined in the contested-catch department. On the season, per Pro Football Focus, Pickens is just 5-for-17 in contested-catch situations, good for just a 29.4% contested-catch rate.
At one point in the season in October, Pickens was the least productive receiver in the NFL in contested-catch situations, a far cry from what he was as a rookie.
Sure, it hasn’t helped that the quarterback play has been below average, and Pickens hasn’t been given as many opportunities in contested-catch situations to truly prove himself in Year Two. But when called upon, he’s not making plays in those moments. Take the first Mitch Trubisky interception in Week 15 against the Indianapolis Colts.
Though Trubisky stated that Pickens took a different angle than he was expecting, it was a 50-50 ball in the middle of the field to a receiver who prides himself on winning those situations. He was outjumped for the ball by a smaller safety, leading to a crucial turnover that started to change the game for the Colts.
Who knows what happens if Pickens makes that play. Maybe the Steelers go on to add another touchdown and pick up a key road win. But he didn’t make the play, and too often this season that’s been the case in contested-catch situations, regardless of how Bowen feels about Pickens in those moments.
