There’s no denying the Pittsburgh Steelers had a talent issue on offense in 2023. Yeah, they had some solid playmakers, and the offensive line had some flashes of being good, but you certainly wouldn’t place them even in the top half of the league regarding offensive talent.
Things could be looking at least slightly better in 2024, with a host of potential options at quarterback, hopefully, some draft help to the line, and another year of development for George Pickens.
However, according to Colin Cowherd, talent isn’t their only problem on offense. He made the case that due to the state of the team, they need to sign a veteran like Russell Wilson to right the ship. He touched on this theory on his podcast, The Herd.
“But my feeling is there’s some immaturity with some of the Steelers offensive players. It feels like it’s been like this for ten or twelve years, and I think Russell (Wilson) brings in maturity and commitment.” Cowherd said. “Pittsburgh needs to grow up. Tomlin has no feel for offense. Give Russell Wilson the offense. He’s a grown-up. He’ll hold those young guys accountable. And Pittsburgh is stacked with talents.”
There were a handful of incidents this season that brought into question the maturity of guys like Diontae Johnson and George Pickens. Pickens and Johnson both had multiple moments this season where their effort was called into question. It makes more sense for Pickens at 22 years old than it does for Johnson at 27 years old, but it was frustrating to watch from both players.
Would someone like Russell Wilson fix this from both of them? Maybe, but not overnight. He’d certainly bring back a level of pedigree that the Steelers offense hasn’t seen since Ben Roethlisberger, and that hopefully would have a positive effect on the entire offense, not just Pickens and Johnson.
The mind of an NFL wide receiver can be an interesting place, as we’ve seen over the years. But one thing that seems to be a fairly universal truth among them is that they are happier when their quarterback can get them the ball. We saw that firsthand in Pittsburgh this season, as Pickens’ attitude improved as his statistics did.
If Russell Wilson can get those guys the ball, he’ll likely get credit for their increase in maturity. If Justin Fields or Kenny Pickett can get them the ball, the credit will likely go to the receivers, but the attitude improvement will be the same. Winning and scoring points solves a lot in the NFL, and I think it could solve the so-called “maturity” issues of this offense, too.
