Let’s be honest, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ receiving room leaves a lot to be desired on paper. Heading into their Sunday matchup against the Atlanta Falcons, it’s hard to imagine the veteran duo of Van Jefferson and Scotty Miller striking fear into the Falcons’ defense.
George Pickens, however, will have their attention. As the team’s clear-cut No. 1 receiver, Pickens will need to have a monster game in order for the Steelers to leave Atlanta with a win. Or at least, that’s what Pro Football Focus’ Trevor Sikkema believes.
“When you look at this receiver group, George Pickens has got to have a monster game for this team because I don’t know who else does,” Sikkema said during PFF’s Week 1 Preview. “I feel like just out of necessity there’s going to be a handful of, ‘Welp, gotta just throw it to Pickens.’”
Last season, Pickens hauled in 63 passes for 1,140 yards and five touchdowns. Behind him was Diontae Johnson, who caught 51 passes for 717 yards and five touchdowns. After that, the numbers fell off a cliff in the receiving room with Allen Robinson II managing 34 receptions for just 280 yards and no touchdowns. As a wise man once said, “This ain’t it, chief.”
This season, the Steelers have undoubtedly downgraded from Johnson, replacing him with Jefferson. Maybe Miller, Roman Wilson or Calvin Austin emerge to help make up for the loss, but when a receiving room that has already struggled downgrades, it definitely isn’t encouraging.
That being said, there is a new and better offense and quarterback compared to last year. The offensive line also seems to be improved after the draft. If both hold to be true, maybe that solves the problems from last year and raises an underwhelming group at receiver.
As for the game against the Falcons, I believe it’s vital that is the case. While I do expect Pickens to have a solid game, it’s a tough ask for him to be dominant with one of the league’s best cornerbacks, A.J. Terrell, likely trailing him throughout the day. Add the looming threats over top in safeties Justin Simmons and Jessie Bates and I wouldn’t expect anything too crazy from Pickens.
Instead, let’s hope Sikkema and the general consensus are wrong and that the Steelers’ other receivers can cause headaches for the Falcons.
