Last week was quite an interesting one for the Pittsburgh Steelers and WR George Pickens, who played the third-most receiver snaps in Week 5 against the Dallas Cowboys and faced two fines, one for wearing eye black that said “Open Fucking Always” and another for throwing down Cowboys CB Jourdan Lewis by the facemask. Pickens downplayed the eye black in his lone media session last week, and there was no drama in Week 6, a game where Pickens played the most snaps out of any receiver.
On Tuesday, Pickens went on FS1’s The Facility, and he addressed what he feels is the biggest misconception about him.
“I know the media and the world want to paint me out as a selfish guy, but really I’m the most unselfish guy in the world,” Pickens said.
He followed up a little bit by talking about Davante Adams and why he believed Adams wanted out of Las Vegas, and Pickens said he believed it stemmed from Adams not getting the ball and the Raiders not winning. Pickens made it clear that winning is one of the only things he cares about and said he is happy playing with either Russell Wilson or Justin Fields.
“They both engineer victory. Really, me coming from Georgia, that’s one of the biggest things I only care about, to be honest with you. Winning,” he said.
That aligns with what Fields said about George Pickens last week, with his comments essentially saying that Pickens only gets frustrated when he feels he’s not contributing to the team winning.
Receivers, especially ones as talented as Pickens, are going to want the football. It’s the nature of being a No. 1 receiver in the NFL, and Pickens isn’t alone in feeling that maybe if he had the ball more, the team would win more. It’s a fine thought process to have, and with Pickens, I do believe that he isn’t intentionally being a bad teammate or a me-first guy.
But there’s no doubt that he has some growing up to do. He’s reportedly been late to work multiple times, which isn’t acceptable, and he has to manage his emotions better. Even if he’s just upset about the team’s performance, slamming his helmet on the sidelines and acting out by throwing down Lewis and seemingly having a bad attitude when things aren’t going well isn’t the way to go about it.
And when the opportunity to make a play comes, Pickens needs to make it. He’s had multiple drops the last two weeks, and for a receiving corps that’s largely pedestrian, the Steelers can’t have their top receiver not make a play when he’s targeted and has a chance to catch the ball.
So, both things can be true. George Pickens isn’t selfish, but he needs to show and not tell by managing his emotions better when things aren’t going his or the team’s way. Hopefully, the rest of the season can be drama-free, and Pickens can really emerge as a top receiver, and we can talk about his play more than his attitude.
