Just a few weeks ago, the local and national media were coming down hard on second-year WR George Pickens for a lack of effort on a would-be touchdown run by RB Jaylen Warren against the Indianapolis Colts. The Steelers went on to score a couple plays later anyway, but Pickens opting to not block was blatant and rightfully drew criticism. It was made worse later in the week when he was asked about it and claimed he was trying to avoid injury.
The situation was undoubtedly magnified by the Steelers’ three-game losing skid that put their season at risk, but it created a large distraction that week. Big enough that head coach Mike Tomlin made himself available to the media on Wednesday, which is a rare occurrence.
Thursday after practice, Warren spoke to the media and discussed Pickens blocking for him during his touchdown run against the Seattle Seahawks last Sunday.
“It was cool,” Warren said via a tweet by Trib Live’s Chris Adamski. “That’s GP, he will [do that], I knew he was gonna do that. He’s not the selfish player that people make him out to be.”
Coming from the player who got robbed of a touchdown by Pickens’ actions, this carries some weight. Following the play Warren is talking about, the two could be seen celebrating in the end zone together. Here is a clip of that play and the ensuing celebration.
Also important to note: interim offensive coordinator Eddie Faulkner made it a point to praise Pickens during his Wednesday coordinator availability this week, saying that he is seeing more buy-in from the wide receiver. He used Pickens’ effort following Diontae Johnson’s overturned fumble as an example. Pickens made a form tackle on that play.
It is funny what getting a player more involved and winning some games can do. Many were calling for Pickens to be benched, but over the last two games he has 11 catches for 326 yards and two touchdowns. It seems like any potential animosity that could have arisen from the no-effort play a few weeks ago is already water under the bridge between Warren and Pickens.
