The Pittsburgh Steelers are right where we are: sitting at home being mad. Although they managed to make the playoffs in 2023, they lost in the first round. It has now been seven years without a postseason victory, the longest drought in franchise history. The question is what to do next.
The first step is always taking stock of what happened and what is left. That’s part of the exit meeting process, in which coaches meet with each player. They discuss the season and their expectations moving forward—and potentially their role within it.
While we might not know all the details about what goes on between head coach Mike Tomlin and his players during these exit meetings, we do know how we would conduct those meetings if they were let up to us. So here are the Depot’s exit meetings for the Steelers’ roster following the 2023 season.
Player: George Pickens
Position: WR
Experience: 2 Years
There are many words that can describe the season George Pickens just had. I’m going to go with interesting. I wish more of that interest was limited to the playing field, but there was enough intrigue to go around, for better or worse.
Let’s start with the basics. He caught 63 passes for 1,140 yards and five touchdowns. He led the NFL with 18.1 yards per reception and averaged 10.8 yards per target. If you ask him, that should have been enough to get him into the Pro Bowl.
Pickens is a volatile person. He can go off for 195 yards and a touchdown and then not even get a target a short time later. Yet he was cool as a cucumber in the game in which he was not targeted. Less so when he was targeted 11 times in the Wild Card loss to the Buffalo Bills.
It must be said that as a wide receiver, he did make significant strides in his second season. His route running improved, even if there is still a good deal of work to do. He learned how to get open more, including on go routes.
What he didn’t do as well was compete for the football. Or compete generally. His effort without the ball in his hands was called into question multiple times, and rightly so. Then he failed to handle it well at all when confronted about it by the media.
Yet he showed frequently just how talented he is. And how well he could produce in a better offense than he’s had in his first two NFL seasons. The Steelers will have a new offensive system in 2024, but will the play at quarterback be better?
As long as Pickens is on the roster, it will be crucial to keep him happy. Whether that’s feeding him the ball or just consistently winning. Though even the latter may not be enough. Ideally, they will find a way to do both. But he has to be the principal author of his own improvement. And the coaches need to be his editors because he’s going to need the guidance.
