Things didn’t go all that well in two seasons with the Denver Broncos for Russell Wilson.
Though he had a strong 2023 season, throwing for 26 touchdowns and just eight interceptions, he’s on the move again and is now set to land with the Pittsburgh Steelers once free agency officially opens on Wednesday with the start of the new league year.
During his two seasons in Denver, Wilson had some ups and downs, which included a surprise benching late last season due to a contract dispute with the Broncos. That ultimately led to his release. Now, he lands in a stable situation in Pittsburgh, which has a ready-made offense featuring plenty of playmakers for the veteran quarterback.
That includes emerging third-year receiver George Pickens, a receiver who should be “pretty happy” with the addition of Wilson to the Black and Gold, according to Pro Football Focus’ Brad Spielberger.
Appearing on the latest episode of the PFF NFL Show Monday morning, Spielberger stated that Pickens could benefit most from the Steelers agreeing to a one-year, $1.21 million contract with Wilson because of his similarities to Wilson’s favorite target in Denver the last two seasons.
“George Pickens, to me, is now the Courtland Sutton,” Spielberger said regarding Pickens, who also wears No. 14, and his role moving forward. “When Russ went to Denver, I was like, this is obviously the guy who’s gonna benefit the most. He has the jump ball go up and get it, ability down the sideline.
“Obviously, Pickens has more than that to his game. But if I’m George Pickens, I’m probably pretty happy with this move. I like it for George Pickens, too.”
Pickens should be pretty happy with the move, period.
In 2023 alone, Pickens went through three different quarterbacks in Kenny Pickett, Mitch Trubisky and Mason Rudolph and still put up 1,140 receiving yards and five touchdowns on 63 receptions. Pickens was a dominant force throughout the season. He had five 100-yard receiving games, going for 127 yards and a touchdown against the Cleveland Browns in Week 2, 130 yards and a touchdown against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 5, 107 yards against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 7, 195 yards and two touchdowns against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 16 and 131 yards against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 17.
He did all that with erratic quarterback play, at least until the final three weeks of the regular season when Rudolph stepped into the lineup and got things on track, consistently hitting the deep ball with Pickens.
Moving forward, landing Wilson is a huge boost for Pickens because of his deep-ball abilities and his physical style of play, which Wilson will trust and look to often, much like he did with Sutton.
In Denver with Wilson, Sutton hauled in 12 touchdowns the last two seasons, including 10 in 2023. He caught 123 passes in two years, too, for 1,601 yards, averaging 13.01 yards per catch in the process. Sutton has similar size (6-4, 216 pounds) and traits to Pickens, which should be enticing for Wilson.
After having some frustration throughout the season due to quarterback struggles and not getting the ball much, Pickens should undoubtedly be pretty happy with the Black and Gold landing the future Hall of Famer in Wilson. We’ll see how it all works out on the field now.
