Throughout his career, Russell Wilson has had quite a bit of success throwing to big, physical receivers, especially downfield.
Entering the 2024 season, which happens to be his first as a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Wilson gets to work with another big, physical, fast receiver, this time in George Pickens.
That combination has many excited for what could be ahead in 2024 with the Wilson-to-Pickens combination.
In fact, CBS Sports’ Jared Dubin ranked the Wilson-Pickens duo among the best new QB-WR duos in the NFL entering the 2024 season.
The Wilson-Pickens combination landed at No. 10 overall, just ahead of the New York Giants’ combination of Daniel Jones and rookie Malik Nabers and the Denver Broncos’ combination of Bo Nix and Courtland Sutton.
“Pickens led the league in yards per reception (18.1) last year and had 12 catches on balls thrown 20+ air yards outside the numbers, which ranked No. 2 behind Tyreek Hill,” Dubin writes regarding the duo for the Steelers. “Wilson was a nice deep-ball thrower during his time in Seattle, but he’s coming off a season in which he averaged his worst yards per attempt ever (6.9). Plus, he has a motivated, more athletic Justin Fields breathing down his neck.”
Last season catching passes from the likes of Kenny Pickett, Mitch Trubisky and Mason Rudolph, Pickens had a career year, finishing with 1,140 receiving yards and five touchdowns on 63 receptions. Now, with upgrades in Wilson and even backup quarterback Justin Fields, Pickens appears poised for a monster third season.
Though there are questions about the depth and talent surrounding him at the wide receiver position currently– they potentially making it more difficult for Pickens to produce — having that experienced, proven quarterback to work with in Wilson should help Pickens immensely.
It also helps that Wilson still throws a great deep ball. He had the 10th-highest grade among all quarterbacks last season on throws 20+ yards down the field, and had 855 yards generated on those throws, according to Pro Football Focus.
Pickens led the with 18.1 yards per catch, had an average depth of target of 13.7 yards, and had a 99.5 grade from PFF on deep balls 20+ yards down the field, hauling in 11 receptions on 22 targets for 405 yards and two touchdowns.
The two should be able to make magic happen down the field, which will open things up for the Steelers’ offense overall.
They should be quite fun to watch and should give the Steelers a real boost in the passing game, which is an area they have struggled in the past.
