Entering the 2024 NFL season, there are plenty of Pittsburgh Steelers flying under the radar. Not many people are talking about LB Elandon Roberts, who was steady Eddie last season at linebacker, or OG James Daniels, who was a consistent, quality presence along the offensive line. Pro Football Network recently made a list of most underrated player on each NFL team, and for the Steelers they surprisingly picked WR George Pickens.
“Despite playing with multiple QBs, Pickens still surpassed 1,000 yards for Pittsburgh in 2023,” Lorenzo Reyna wrote. “That production also came amid an offensive coordinator change. More astonishing is that his average yards per catch skyrocketed to 18.1 in ’23.”
Pickens is a weird pick for a most underrated list. Since entering the NFL, Pickens has been anything but underrated, his spectacular catches making the highlight reel almost every week. In addition, without WR Diontae Johnson anymore, Pickens is now WR1 on the Steelers and will be seeing even more attention.
Reyna argues that Pickens is underrated considering how good he has been with poor quarterback play. To Reyna’s credit, Pickens has performed very well with below-average quarterback play. However, he is still one of the best-known players on the Steelers and is arguably their third most well-known player on the offensive side of the ball after quarterbacks Russell Wilson and Justin Fields.
Players such as Roberts, Daniels, and OG Isaac Seumalo are much better picks for most underrated players on the Steelers from a standard of a player who “quietly delivers production” than Pickens. However, if the argument is saying Pickens is underrated compared to how he is viewed to other wide receivers in the NFL there is an argument there.
Pickens registered an insane 18.1 yards per catch, best in the NFL, last season. He did that with quarterbacks who did not throw the ball deep that often. QB Kenny Pickett, who was the starter for most of the season, was notorious for not throwing the ball deep and taking check downs. Despite this, Pickens was still able to put up some astonishing numbers.
Is Pickens underrated? In the grand scheme of things, no. He is one of the most well-known players in the NFL, and there are plenty of other players on the Steelers who are very good but don’t get the hype of Pickens. At the same time, an argument certainly can be made that Pickens is underrated as a receiver. Despite leading the NFL in yards per catch and having a 1,000-yard season with arguably the worst quarterbacks in the NFL most people would not consider Pickens a top-15 receiver, maybe not even top 20. Is he? That is a question I think we have to wait and see if he can continue to play well as the Steelers’ undisputed No. 1 wide receiver, but his name should be floated in those conversations.
