In what could be a preview of what’s to come for the Pittsburgh Steelers offense, QB Justin Fields’ connection with WR George Pickens has been heating up over the course of the first 12 training camp practices.
Alex Kozora, who had been present at every practice so far, tabulated the stats for the two through the first nine practices, and the splits from the first six practices to the following three are eye-opening. Through the first six practices, Fields and Pickens connected on nine of their 16 attempts for 116 yards and one touchdown. From practices seven through nine, they connected on 15 of 18 for 144 yards and five touchdowns.
Fields was asked earlier this morning in an interview with the WDVE Morning Show if he is always looking for Pickens.
“I mean, yeah. When he is one-on-one, why wouldn’t you, you know?” Fields said. “He’s one of the best in the league at what he does. I say 50-50 balls aren’t really 50-50 with him. They’re more 90-10. He can definitely go up and get it.”
During today’s practice on a simple screen pass to Pickens, Fields placed the ball way too high. But Pickens elevated and made an awesome one-handed catch, per Kozora on X. Those are the types of plays that will earn a wide receiver a ton of trust from their quarterback. Make the quarterback right even when they are wrong.
Kenny Pickett never quite formed the full connection, whether that was because of his own lack of ability or the offensive system (or both). But they still had a great connection on back-shoulder throws along the sideline. Those are the types of 50-50 balls that Fields was talking about and the ones that Pickens routinely makes look easy.
Even with those factors holding Pickens back and a much smaller number of targets than many other top receivers in the league, Pickens finished the 2023 season with 1,140 receiving yards on just 106 targets. That was the 16th most receiving yards in the league, including a league-best 18.1 yards per reception. Many of the top receivers had anywhere from 60 to 80 percent more targets than Pickens in 2023.
If he can develop a connection with Fields or Russell Wilson and get eight to ten targets per game like some of the other top receivers in the league, he could easily have a breakout season that cements him in the upper echelon of the position.
