George Pickens made the headlines for all the wrong reasons one week ago against the Dallas Cowboys. He played the lowest snap count total of his career, and wasn’t very involved in the game plan. Fast forward to a week later against the Las Vegas Raiders, and Pickens was being force fed passes in garbage time when the team would normally be grinding down the clock with the run game in the fourth quarter.
To everybody watching, it seemed quite obvious that it was a move to get Pickens involved to prevent any further drama. Pickens ended the game with three receptions for 53 yards on eight targets. Before that drive, his stat line would have been two receptions for 22 yards on six targets. He also dropped a touchdown pass one play after his 31-yard reception.
Steelers insider Mark Kaboly thinks that late drive proves there is something going on behind the scenes.
“You’re admitting that there’s some sort of issue right there,” Kaboly said via 93.7 The Fan’s Morning Show. “I mean, if you didn’t believe the load management bull crap, you should believe this, ’cause they’re throwing the ball to a guy with four and a half minutes left down the field. Now, is that an Arthur Smith call? Or is that a Justin Fields, we’re getting you into this, I’m throwing it to you regardless?”
Mike Tomlin and Arthur Smith both explained Pickens’ lack of snaps and involvement last week in slightly different ways. Tomlin called it load management over the course of a long season while Smith called it maximizing different personnel packages. They denied any kind of discipline or issues behind the scenes.
But the force feeding of Pickens in garbage time sure makes it feel like there is an underlying issue.
To Pickens’ credit, I didn’t see any drama on or off the field in Week 6. He even spoke to the media after the game this week and didn’t have anything negative to say.
Pickens is on pace for a career-high in receptions at 73.7 across a full 17 games, but his yardage is on pace to be lower than last year. He had 1,140 yards a year ago and is on pace for 1,028 this season. A stat line of 73.7 receptions, 1,028 yards, and zero touchdowns is far from the type of season many expected from Pickens as the undisputed WR1 in Pittsburgh.
