For almost two decades, every receiver that came through the Pittsburgh Steelers’ organization had the benefit of working with Ben Roethlisberger. There is a reason why the Steelers are so well-known for drafting and developing receivers, and the future Hall of Fame quarterback was obviously a big part of that. When Diontae Johnson was traded, that left zero receivers in the room who had experience working with Roethlisberger and all the various veteran tips and tricks he can pass along to them. It is sometimes easy to forget that guys like George Pickens have never really had a great quarterback situation.
Drafted in 2022, Pickens was immediately thrust into a situation with Mitch Trubisky as the starting quarterback, and just a few games later rookie first-round QB Kenny Pickett would take over. Pickens primarily worked with Pickett over his first two seasons, but with some Trubisky and Mason Rudolph sprinkled in. That isn’t exactly the most accomplished group of quarterbacks to learn from. With Russell Wilson, Pickens now has that veteran presence that has been missing.
“Something that I never had before, I would say,” Pickens said during interview with ESPN’s Adam Schefter via the Adam Schefter Podcast. “With a guy just his veteran, he’d been to the Super Bowl. A lot of people haven’t done that. His whole mentality of how he approached the game is totally different than I’ve ever seen, especially from the quarterback position.”
I don’t think Pickens is throwing shade, it is just a simple fact that Wilson is in his 13th NFL season and has a Super Bowl ring to his name with two total appearances in the big game. Obviously Trubisky, Pickett, Rudolph, and even Justin Fields have not come anywhere close to those accomplishments or longevity.
“QBs have to be the smartest on the field anyway, but his approach to the game is just work hard every day,” Pickens said. “He’s the first one at the facility, last one to leave. He just takes the game with a grain of salt every day. So he makes himself better every day.”
The big thing that the Steelers were missing on offense in 2023 was leadership. The offense was without a great leader at offensive coordinator, the quarterback situation was in flux, and it was one of the youngest groups in the league. That is one of the big reasons why the Steelers signing Wilson made so much sense, and why it still makes a lot of sense now that he is healthy.
“With being around Russ, that really showed me, work hard every day,” Pickens said. “Prepare yourself. Overly prepare yourself, and then that’d be hard for you to mess up, hard for you to make a critical decision that you don’t wanna do.”
The Steelers’ offense is still among the youngest in the NFL. Justin Fields has played admirably, and he likely played himself into a future with the franchise. But young talents like George Pickens need a leader in the huddle like Wilson to help keep things on track.
This interview was taped before the Steelers’ loss to the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday Night Football. Given Pickens’ antics on and off the field since then, I would say this rings true more than ever right now.
Mike Tomlin will speak to the media later today where he could give an update on the quarterback pecking order with a reportedly healthy Russell Wilson.
