All eyes are on Pittsburgh Steelers WR George Pickens this season, and so is the pressure. So much of their success on offense will run through him this year, or not at all. After trading Diontae Johnson, they don’t have a strong option next to him, and how that affects his productivity is something to consider. He is not an elite route-runner who easily creates space, so how will he handle frequent double teams?
“Pickens is the unquestioned No. 1 receiver after Diontae Johnson was traded. Whether he can produce without a legitimate No. 2 threat will be a weekly concern, and rightfully so”, Mark Kaboly writes on the Steelers’ predicament for the Athletic. “Whether or not opponents take him out of games and how he reacts to that is going to be key. Pickens’ numbers spiked last year when Mason Rudolph was inserted into the lineup because of his accuracy, and that could carry over with Wilson at quarterback”.
Of course, there is never just one variable, so this discussion is not a simple one. The Steelers shackled George Pickens to Kenny Pickett as his quarterback, adding Matt Canada on top of that. A poorly run and poorly executed offense somehow failed to show him in the best light.
But he doesn’t escape the blame entirely because he certainly squandered his share of opportunities. Yes, he produced better with Mason Rudolph if you ignore his zero-target game. But he struggled to get open for Kenny Pickett, stepped out of bounds to negate a touchdown, and couldn’t catch a jump ball to save his life for significant stretches of the season.
The Steelers have dealt with defenses taking George Pickens out of games before. Head coach Mike Tomlin talked about that after the game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, for example. Other times, he portrayed that as a positive, but who is catching the balls he doesn’t see this year?
As of now, the Steelers’ best bet as the second target behind Pickens is TE Pat Freiermuth. Guys like Van Jefferson, Calvin Austin III, and Roman Wilson will not discourage defenses from double-teaming him.
For as much as everybody acknowledges his immense talent and potential, the Steelers still need to see a lot of growth from Pickens. He did grow in certain areas last season, but some, like his route running, still need even more help. The Steelers even struggled to feed Antonio Brown at times and worked hard to scheme him open amid double teams.
A 2022 second-round pick by the Steelers, George Pickens has 115 career receptions for 1,941 yards and 9 touchdowns. He produced his first 1,000-yard season last year and led the NFL with an 18.1-yard per-catch average.
But how will he produce with the defense more free to key on him and take him out of the game plan? Kaboly believes that will be a weekly challenge for the Steelers to figure out with Pickens.
