Will George Pickens have his breakout season in 2024?
The Steelers are betting on George Pickens. They believe that he can take over as a true No. 1 receiver, trading Diontae Johnson earlier this offseason. Since making that move, they have only made cheap signings and drafted Roman Wilson in the third round. In other words, they haven’t added anyone who might challenge his place in the pecking order.
While he might believe that he deserved to go to the Pro Bowl in each of his first two seasons, he hasn’t had a true “breakout” year yet. Even last year, he finished with 63 receptions for 1,140 yards and five touchdowns. That’s a good, solid season, but hardly one for the record books.
And let’s talk about record books just for a moment. Pickens’ 1,140-yard season doesn’t even crack the top 10 in Steelers history, and that’s in 17 games. In fact, in terms of yards per game, his 2023 campaign only places 35th on the Steelers’ all-time list. If we’re honest with ourselves, he hasn’t even put up JuJu Smith-Schuster numbers yet.
And yet everybody seems to believe that he is ready to break out at any moment. Nobody denies that George Pickens is one of the most talented wide receivers in the game. With Arthur Smith at offensive coordinator, Russell Wilson at quarterback, and his own third-year growth, he should be in the best position of his career to succeed. Factor in high-volume targets lost in Diontae Johnson, and that’s more opportunities for him.
In theory, anyway. But at the same time, he is learning a new offense with a new quarterback. And that offense is going to place an emphasis on running the football on top of that. What kind of numbers is he going to put up? After all, we’re talking about guys whose previous teams fired them. The Broncos cut bait on Wilson, and the Falcons fired Smith. They have even more to prove than does Pickens.
Taking everything into consideration, then, what would a “breakout” season for Pickens even look like? It has to start with Pro Bowl-caliber numbers. If he can stretch the field, then 70-75 catches might be fine. But he’ll need to hit at least 1,250-1,300 yards. And he will definitely need to find the end zone more than five times. At least twice that would be ideal, but at least seven or eight seems to be the minimum expectation.
The Steelers’ 2024 season is approaching, following another disappointing year that culminated in a playoff loss. The only change-up in the annual formula lately is whether they miss the playoffs altogether. They have had a long offseason since the Buffalo Bills stamped them out of their misery back in January.
The biggest question hanging over the team is the quarterback question. Does Russell Wilson make them a Super Bowl-caliber team, or are they wasting a year? How will the team continue to address the depth chart?
The Steelers are past free agency and the draft and their roster for the 2024 season is coming into focus. They made numerous moves through signings and trade—and release. More than usual, they seemed comfortable creating holes, confident they can fill them. Now that we have so many pieces of the puzzle, however, we merely have a new set of questions to ask.
