Despite coming off a strong second NFL season that saw him emerge as a game-changing weapon and now ascending int the No. 1 WR role with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Pro Football Focus believes wide receiver George Pickens is only the 30th-best receiver in football.
One day after ranking new quarterback Russell Wilson as the 22nd-best in the NFL, PFF had Pickens narrowly edging out Cincinnati’s Tee Higgins and Tampa Bay’s Chris Godwin for the final two spots in the top 32.
“George Pickens specializes in the spectacular, but he has also been a very productive receiver across the board despite some ugly quarterback situations,” PFF’s Sam Monson writes. “Pickens averaged 2.11 yards per route run last season and put up 1,140 yards despite Kenny Pickett’s failure to develop as a sophomore.”
Entering Year 2 in the NFL after an impressive rookie season full of dominant flashes, Pickens had some incredibly high expectations. Things started slowly, which led to a great deal of frustrations early for the Georgia product.
But once Diontae Johnson went down with an injury and Pickens was elevated to the WR1 role, he took off, giving the Steelers some game-breaking abilities on the boundary.
Pickens had five 100-yard receiving games on the season, 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.
His touchdown against Baltimore in Week 5 was the eventual game-winner. He beat cornerback Marlon Humphrey down the right sideline for the touchdown from quarterback Kenny Pickett, helping the Steelers shake out of a funk in the game.
ISO on George Pickens on TD versus Marlon Humphrey. Got last second separation. #Steelers #NFL pic.twitter.com/02VYVVAISs
— Steelers Depot 7⃣ (@Steelersdepot) October 9, 2023
Pickens was a real force throughout the season and truly emerged as a standout. At times, defenses schemed ways to take him away, which was undoubtedly frustrating for a young player. He let that affect him at times, leading to more discussions about on- and off-field attitude issues.
But to Pickens’ credit, he learned from his mistakes with attitude and effort. Closing the season on the right track, he sets himself up for a great third season, especially with Johnson now off to Carolina via trade, opening the door to more targets and the WR1 status for Pickens.
Despite that strong close to the 2023 season and some impressive tape and traits overall, Monson sees him as the 30th-best receiver in football — and puzzlingly behind a trio of rookies who haven’t even played an NFL snap.
The wide receiver position is absolutely loaded in the NFL at this point, and it was helped by a very strong receiver class in the 2024 NFL Draft. But placing Marvin Harrison Jr. (No. 21 overall), Malik Nabers (No. 26) and Rome Odunze (No. 29) over Pickens seems like a bit of a stretch.
Pickens can do pretty much everything those guys can do coming out of college, and most importantly has proven it at the NFL level. At the very least, Pickens should be ahead of Atlanta’s Drake London (No. 27) and Indianapolis’ Michael Pittman (No. 28) in the rankings.
Slotting him in at No. 30 seems like a bit of a slight regarding Pickens.
