Coming off an impressive 2023 season, the future looks very bright for third-year Pittsburgh Steelers receiver George Pickens.
Entering his age-23 season, Pickens is the clear-cut No. 1 receiver for the Steelers under new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith and has some upgrades under center to work with in quarterbacks Russell Wilson and Justin Fields, which should improve his production this season.
Though he was in an offense that struggled to throw the football at times last season, Pickens had a career year and now appears on the cusp of stardom. Knowing that, it’s not a surprise to see him crack Bleacher Report’s top 25 NFL players under 25 list Friday morning from Brad Gagnon.
Pickens landed at No. 21, ahead of Miami running back De’Von Achane, Cleveland linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, Los Angeles Rams running back Kyren Williams, and New York Giants EDGE Kayvon Thibodeaux.
Pickens was one six receivers to crack the top-25 rankings under the age of 25, which includes Cincinnati’s Ja’Marr Chase, Detroit’s Amon-Ra St. Brown, the New York Jets’ Garrett Wilson, the Los Angeles Rams’ Puka Nacua, and New Orleans’ Chris Olave.
The Steelers receiver hasn’t had the production of those other receivers, but he has all the tools necessary to ascend into that star level of play.
The 2023 season was a terrific one for Pickens. He 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.
Pickens was a real force throughout the season, even with some challenges under center in the Matt Canada offense. Ultimately, Pickens finished the season with 64 receptions for 1,140 yards and five touchdowns. He led the NFL in yards per reception with 18.1, which is rather remarkable having played in a vertically challenged offense throughout much of the season.
Even with some struggles in the passing game, Pickens developed as a route runner, added yards after catch to his game and really became a terrifying receiver for defenses to deal with, especially late in the season.
Now, if he could just get consistent play from the quarterback position, like he did late in the season, the sky is the limit for the former Georgia standout.
With a WR1 opportunity in front of him in 2024 with the Steelers, it will not be surprising whatsoever if Pickens takes another monumental step in his game, becoming that truly dominant receiver the Steelers envisioned he could be when they selected him in the second round of the 2022 NFL Draft.
