It was only the first preseason game of the 2024 NFL season, but Pittsburgh Steelers WR George Pickens had a fairly quiet night against the Houston Texans. He was only targeted twice but caught both passes for 25 yards.
Should Steelers fans be concerned? After all, the depth chart behind Pickens is lacking in proven NFL players. That’s why the Steelers have pursued San Franciso 49ers WR Brandon Aiyuk all offseason. But at the end of the day, Pickens has proven himself worthy of being a No. 1 wide receiver in the NFL.
“George Pickens is an X factor,” former Steelers OT Max Starks said on KDKA’s postgame show Friday night after the Steelers’ 20-12 loss to the Texans. “A lot of people call him ‘The Alien’ because of the way he can move his body and make a play and make a guy miss and get the extra yardage… I’m really happy with his performance because in training camp, he’s been catching nothing but touchdowns or taking it yard and embarrassing Joey Porter Jr.”
Pickens proved to be a bit of a freak of nature during his first two NFL seasons. He was one of the best contested-catch receivers in the league as a rookie. Then in 2023, Pickens led the league with 18.1 yards per catch. Despite the lack of consistent quarterback play, Pickens has nearly 2,000 yards receiving and nine touchdowns to start his career.
That talent shows up on the practice field in training camp at Saint Vincent College, too. During camp, Pickens has impressed wide receivers coach Zach Azzanni, who thinks the world of Pickens’ potential. He has shown a flair for the big catch, especially in the red zone. That includes beating CB Joey Porter Jr.
That George Pickens one-handed catch vs Joey Porter Jr. from earlier 7 shots on Tuesday has surfaced via @Mazursky8895 #Steelers #NFL 🔥🔥pic.twitter.com/9kediHF2gt
— Steelers Depot 7⃣ (@Steelersdepot) July 30, 2024
So the Steelers don’t need to use the preseason as the time to showcase Pickens. However, it still serves a purpose for Pickens and the Steelers. It’s live action for reps with QB Justin Fields (and Russell Wilson later in the preseason).
“Get him a couple of plays, get him involved in the game, and then get him out of there because we know what he can bring in the regular season,” Starks said. “You just want to see him develop a little bit of chemistry with Justin Fields, which I thought was really nice.”
Both of Pickens’ receptions Friday night came from Fields. Pickens gained 15 yards on the first catch after he narrowed his body to make the first tackler miss. Then on the second catch, Pickens took a dump-off and made another tackler miss to gain seven yards. Starks talked about Pickens’ ability to make defenders miss with the ball in his hands. Pickens displayed that against the Texans.
And Fields has talked about (and shown) a comfort level with targeting Pickens throughout the summer. Their chemistry has grown on the practice field and showed early against the Texans. So despite the mistake-filled loss for the Steelers, it was a good start to the preseason for Pickens. While he may not have shown off any extraterrestrial-type plays, he did well to create yards after the catch.
Meanwhile, offensive coordinator Arthur Smith should be using preseason games to get the rest of the wide receiver corps ready.
