Does George Pickens finally have a quarterback in Russell Wilson who can keep him happy?
George Pickens, like every great wide receiver and every other receiver on top of that, wants the ball. In his first game with Russell Wilson at quarterback, he got the ball, a good amount, and produced when he did. Of Wilson’s 29 pass attempts, he threw nine times to Pickens.
The duo completed five passes for 111 yards and one touchdown, the first of the season for both George Pickens and Russell Wilson. Pickens also drew a defensive pass interference penalty for 29 yards on one unofficial target from Wilson.
Even his biggest critics acknowledge that Pickens is extremely talented. He doesn’t always show it, and he is far from absent of negative plays. This season, he lost a fumble in the red zone, dropped a pass in the red zone, and dropped a third-down pass. That’s not even getting into his emotional displays.
But the counterargument has always been that the Steelers are not using Pickens the way he needs to be used. He worked with Mitch Trubisky, Kenny Pickett, Mason Rudolph, and Justin Fields before finally getting to Russell Wilson. And he had one of the best games of his career with Wilson in their first pairing.
But is that a harbinger of things to come or just an overdue good game? Pickens thrives on the deep ball and historically Wilson is capable of delivering there. He also showed that he is willing to give Pickens his chances, and to target him at volume. If you include the DPI, Wilsons targeted him on a third of his pass attempts.
So the question is, in Russell Wilson, does George Pickens finally have the quarterback who can keep him happy? Antonio Brown had Ben Roethlisberger, who was more than willing to feed him, even when it made no sense. Is Wilson that guy for Pickens, or at least, is he close enough to keep him from being a distraction?
The Steelers’ 2024 season is underway, following another disappointing year ending in a first-round playoff loss. They have had a long offseason since the Buffalo Bills stamped them out of their misery back in January. There are positive signs, but things could jump off the rails any moment.
The biggest question hanging over the team is the quarterback question. Will Russell Wilson regain his job when he is healthy, or is Justin Fields stealing it? How will the team continue to address the depth chart, which is surprisingly still in flux?
The regular season is here, following weeks of camp and preseason games. The Steelers made numerous moves through signings and trade—and release. More than usual, they seemed comfortable creating holes, confident they can fill them. Some they managed to fill, others not so much. Now that we have so many pieces of the puzzle, however, we merely have a new set of questions to ask.
