The Pittsburgh Steelers struggled offensively down the stretch, losing their last five games of the season, and two of those losses came without WR George Pickens in the lineup. Pickens was Pittsburgh’s top receiver all year, but he missed three games late in the season with a hamstring injury, and after he returned, he didn’t make a huge impact.
He had three catches for 50 yards on seven targets against the Chiefs in Week 17 and then had one reception for zero yards and multiple drops in a Week 18 loss against the Cincinnati Bengals. While he had a decent performance in Pittsburgh’s playoff loss with five receptions for 87 yards, most of his production came with the Steelers already trailing by multiple scores.
Former NFL scout John Middlekauff went on The Chipped Ham and Football podcast with Brian Batko of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, and he said Pickens isn’t someone he would depend on in a big game late in the season.
“I’m watching the guy they got now, and like, yeah he’s physically gifted and makes some sweet plays, but would I depend on this guy in a huge game against the Ravens, the Chiefs, the Bengals, in November, December? No chance,” Middlekauff said. “They kinda walk this line with guys like this where they’re hard on them, but they really need them.”
He said Pickens doesn’t really fit the Steelers’ culture but is indispensable because of Pittsburgh’s lack of receiver talent.
“I think they find themselves in these weird positions sometimes with these players, which is weird, because when I close my eyes and I think about the Steelers, I think of like T.J. Watt, Minkah Fitzpatrick, Cam Heyward. I want to go to war with those guys, and then their whole season depends on this diva wide receiver being in the game.”
Even before the injury, there were times when George Pickens struggled to produce like a true No. 1 receiver. Some of that was a byproduct of Pittsburgh’s quarterback play and lack of other options, but he had seven games where he failed to reach 60 yards in 2024, and the Steelers are going to need him to show he can be a legitimate No. 1 option before they give him a big extension.
Pickens’ attitude though has been more of a concern than his production, and I think that’s where Middlekauff is getting at. Against the Bengals in Week 18, it seemed as if he didn’t get the ball early and mentally wasn’t as focused, which led to costly drops in a game that was important for Pittsburgh’s playoff seeding.
He’s physically talented and has proven he can make plays in big moments (like his game-winning touchdown against the Ravens in Week 5 in 2023), so it’s not a super fair argument that he doesn’t always show up in big moments, but it is fair to question whether he can mentally stay focused and stay in the game at times.
George Pickens is entering a contract year in 2025, and it seems as if he’ll be back in Pittsburgh. The Steelers are going to need him to prove he can be someone the team can rely on every single week if he’s going to get a contract at the top of the receiver market, and it remains to be seen if he can do so.
