Finding wide receivers capable of producing 1,000-yard seasons hasn’t been incredibly difficult for the Pittsburgh Steelers. There was JuJu Smith-Schuster. Then there was Diontae Johnson. Now there is George Pickens, the latest to do it. He caught 63 passes in 2023 for 1,140 yards and five touchdowns.
Not that those are world-beating numbers. He was only 16th in the NFL in receiving yards, 50th in receptions, and tied for 35th in touchdowns though he led all qualified players with 18.1 yards per catch. He had a huge 195-yard, two-score game toward the end of the season that got him back on the right track, which he followed up with another 131 yards. And he believes he’s made his point by now.
“I just feel like this year I showed everybody that I am a playmaker”, he told reporters following Monday’s loss to the Buffalo Bills, via Chris Adamski of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “Some people just thought I was (merely) a ‘go’ ball guy. As you can see, I can do it all”.
To his credit, Pickens did diversify his route tree this year though that kind of waxed and waned throughout the year. Things started to trend in a better direction late in the season after a significant dip in the middle of the year.
But it’s still hard to take seriously his concerns about being overlooked for the Pro Bowl, which he expressed yet again, blaming his exclusion on “politics”. He had already complained about being “snubbed” as a rookie when he caught only 52 passes for 801 yards and four touchdowns.
“The stats show it”, Adamski quotes him as saying when addressing the matter of his Pro Bowl qualifications, before chalking it up to the dreaded P word. “That’s all. It’s going to come to a point where people start watching the game and knowing it’s political over everything — who is on the team and what type of players a team has. It’s, for sure, political”.
In a sense, he’s not wrong about it being “political”, in the tamest sense. It’s basically synonymous with calling it a popularity contest, which is probably more accurately what he’s trying to say. Frankly, lists of Pro Bowl “snubs” are usually more popular than lists of those who actually get in.
After completing a somewhat shaky but largely productive and improved second season, though, what is next for Pickens? The Steelers still need to figure out who their next offensive coordinator is and who will start at quarterback, but he is still working to establish himself as that “true” No. 1 receiver.
While he calls himself a “training guy” who always aims to improve every season, he demurred when addressing what he can improve. “I don’t know. I feel like I showed everybody”, he said. “I don’t know what I should do (to improve) personally”.
He did round out his game, yes. But he can certainly continue to improve in all areas. Arguably, now that he’s being asked to do more things, he has even more things to improve upon. Here’s to hoping he, or at least his coaches, figure out what he needs to do to keep on his upward trajectory and stave off contentment.
