In Week 18 against the Baltimore Ravens, Pittsburgh Steelers’ second-year wide receiver George Pickens didn’t see a single target in the 17-10 win.
Based on how his season had gone to that point from an attitude and effort standpoint, one would be reasonable to have expected Pickens to lose his mind on the sideline and go through the motions on the field.
That wasn’t the case — at all — in the regular season finale. Pickens was completely locked in during the game and understood the game plan. He understood that the Ravens were trying to take him out of the game entirely, putting a ton of attention on him and freeing up looks for others.
That impressed his teammates and coaches as it showed a real sign of growth, especially from the standpoint of interim offensive coordinator Eddie Faulkner.
“We’ve all said a lot of things, you know what I mean, just trying to assist in his growth,” Faulkner said to reporters Wednesday, according to the official transcript provided by the team. “And what he’s internalizing and buying, I’m not sure, but you have seen that growth on the field and off. So, that’s been awesome to see.”
It was awesome to see from Pickens, and it was rather encouraging, too.
At times this season, Pickens has allowed his emotions to take control of him, which has led to some ugly situations for a young player. But maturity isn’t linear, and he’s had to go through some adversity to figure things out.
The Week 18 showing against the Ravens was a positive sign that maturity is occurring, and Pickens is starting to get it.
Now, that’ll be put to the test Sunday in the Wild Card Round matchup against the Buffalo Bills as Faulkner believes the Bills will try and take away Pickens once again.
“…I mean, from a football schematic standpoint, if I were on defense, I would try to [take away Pickens],” Faulker added regarding Pickens entering the Wild Card matchup, according to the official transcript provided by the team. “So, for a lot of the things that we look at offensively from a scheme standpoint and things we anticipate Buffalo might try to do, it’s always going to encompass an element how they’re going to take GP (George Pickens) away and then what’s going to be our response to it.
“I would totally anticipate that. At the same time, we got to find ways to move him around and get him in spots where we can get him more involved. He’s a special talent.”
Pickens is a special talent. He’s shown that time and time again throughout the season, becoming the first Steelers’ wide receiver since Mike Wallace in 2009 to lead the NFL in yards per catch. Pickens averaged 18.1 yards per catch on the season, narrowly edging out San Francisco’s Brandon Aiyuk in that category.
The Steelers are correct in anticipating that Buffalo will try and take away Pickens, considering just how dominant he was down the stretch, especially with Mason Rudolph under center. While the Steelers have experience in seeing opponents try and take away Pickens, they need to do a better job of moving him around and getting him involved, considering how explosive of a weapon he is.
