One year after recording five 100-yard receiving games, Pittsburgh Steelers third-year receiver George Pickens reached the 100-yard milestone in Week 4 against the Indianapolis Colts, doing so for the first time in the 2024 season.
That performance, in which he hauled in seven receptions for 113 yards and had one costly fumble inside the red zone, was enough to push Pickens inside the top 20 at the position in Pro Football Focus’s wide receiver rankings ahead of Week 5.
Pickens landed at No. 17, right behind Washington’s Terry McLaurin but ahead of Indianapolis’ Alec Pierce, New Orleans’ Rashid Shaheed, and Seattle’s DK Metcalf.
“Pickens got his first 100-yard game of the season against Indianapolis. He had two catches of 30-plus yards in the second half and finished the game with seven catches for 113 yards,” PFF’s Lauren Gray writes. “Pickens has 20 catches for 284 yards with seven gains of 20-plus yards. Twelve of his catches have moved the chains, and he ranks eighth in deep target grading.”
George Pickens is the clear-cut No. 1 weapon in Pittsburgh’s passing game and has made some big plays with Justin Fields through the first four weeks of the season.
For the most part, he’s been the primary playmaker in the passing game for Pittsburgh. Through the first four games, Pickens has graded out at a 71.5 overall against the Atlanta Falcons, a 79.6 against the Denver Broncos, a 62.9 against the Los Angeles Chargers and a 69.2 against the Colts.
So far this season he’s aligned in the slot on 32 snaps and out wide on 92. He has just 39 yards after the catch on the season, but he’s averaging 12.5 yards of average depth per target, which is down more than a full yard from last season.
Pickens does have three contested catches on the season, which is already nearly halfway to the seven he had all of last season. He’s even had some big plays erased due to penalties, which would have made his stats even more impressive.
Outside of the fumble last week against the Colts, George Pickens has been very good and is seemingly taking a step forward as a complete receiver. He’s become a strong route runner, is winning down the field consistently and seemingly has the right attitude even with some of the Steelers’ offensive struggles.
That’s a great sign moving forward for the young receiver, who very clearly has a big role for the Black and Gold.
