George Pickens is your prototypical “Z” receiver. Big, fast, can leap and win vertically. But under Arthur Smith, Pickens’ alignment won’t be obvious to defenses eager to erase him from the game plan. Expect Pickens to line up all over the field in 2024.
Discussing his role with reporters following Wednesday’s minicamp practice, Pickens says he’s playing in the slot more than ever before with Pittsburgh.
“Yeah,” Pickens said via the team website when asked if he’s playing more in the slot. “Not more than I ever have. I did at Georgia. But more than I have in the league.”
As a rookie, Pickens was purely an outside receiver. Raw and unrefined, his game had to grow, and winning downfield was his only calling card. A very good one that provided plenty of value but made him a one-note player without much of a route tree and YAC. He improved last season, running a fuller tree and becoming a YAC weapon with repeated long post-catch runs for touchdowns. Statistically, his YAC tripled from 2.0 per reception in 2021 to 6.2 in 2022.
His slot snaps increased, too. Per our Tom Mead, here’s Pickens’ true slot usage in his first two years in the NFL.
George Pickens Slot Rate
2021: 11.7 percent
2022: 20.1 percent
This was a noticeable increase that nearly doubled. Based on his comments, Pickens will play even more along the interior in 2024. Based on early impressions of an Arthur-Smith-led offense, Pickens thinks versatility will be the Steelers’ blueprint.
“A lot,” he said when asked if flexibility would be a hallmark of the offense. “With certain teams, certain DBs. Just the guys that we’ve got, we’re varied. We’ve got the speed, stuff like that. So it’s going to be nice to have a lot of speed on the field, lot of different plays, me in the slot. Just a different, different offense.”
Hopefully, one that produces different results. At least for the rest of the team. If Pickens can replicate his numbers from a season ago, over 1,100 yards, a league-high 18.1 yards per catch, and five touchdowns, he could cash in with a long-term extension next summer. But a high usage in the slot might increase his receptions while decreasing his average while still maximizing his impact in the offense and making life harder on defenses to take him away.
