Pittsburgh Steelers QB Justin Fields clearly has a “type” when it comes to passing targets; his name is George Pickens. Of his 43 passing attempts, 10 have gone to Pickens, and that doesn’t include negated plays due to penalty. To get a true picture of exactly that dynamic, you need to factor those plays into the equation.
“George is an elite receiver in this league”, Fields said of Pickens after yesterday’s game, via the Steelers’ website. “I like him versus anybody. I’m not gonna shy away from a particular DB because that DB knows how good George is, too. I’m gonna keep feeding George no matter who’s guarding him unless it’s double coverage. But if they’re double-covering him, someone else is open”.
Officially, George Pickens only caught two of four passes from Justin Fields or 29 yards in the Steelers’ 13-6 win over the Denver Broncos, but boy does that not tell the story. That leaves out some crucial details, like a beautiful 51-yard connection negated by an unrelated penalty on Broderick Jones. His also doesn’t include a six-yard touchdown negated by a questionable call on a pick play. And it doesn’t include a 37-yard defensive pass interference penalty he drew against CB Patrick Surtain II. That’s 94 yards of hidden yardage, plus a touchdown when they otherwise settled for a field goal.
That’s why guys like Justin Fields say of Pickens things like, “I don’t think there’s too many guys in this league that can guard him”. And Surtain covering him was a big story leading up to the game. Even if the stat sheet doesn’t look like it, the game tape tells you who won.
Fields even acknowledged that the Steelers attacked the Broncos deep in part because of the officiating crew but also in part because of their scheme. They like to play man, and the Steelers like Pickens’ chances against man. “When you have a deep threat like George who has DBs scared getting beat deep, it’s just us or nobody”.
George Pickens, who caught six passes for 85 yards in the opener, also lost out on a 36-yard reception in the season opener on a questionable offensive pass interference penalty. Take away just the two questionable flags and that’s another 87 yards he has on the season from Justin Fields.
And it’s surely got to be frustrating for both Pickens and Fields. It’s all the more credit to Pickens that he has seemingly maintained his composure throughout his unfortunate officiating luck. Perhaps in his third season he is maturing. Or perhaps he just doesn’t care as much when the Steelers are actually winning, which always helps.
Either way, he still knows that he is the Steelers’ No. 1 target, and it isn’t close. Pickens is the only truly dynamic receiving threat on this roster, even if they have some complementary pieces. Pat Freiermuth can do some work, and one hopes Van Jefferson starts catching passes. But this passing offense is George Pickens and whoever is throwing to him, which for now is Justin Fields.
