He spent just one season with him, but former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson really took a liking to former Steelers wide receiver George Pickens.
Now, they’re both in the NFC East after Wilson signed with the New York Giants as a free agent and Pickens was traded to the Dallas Cowboys, so they’ll see each other twice a season. But that one season in Pittsburgh together made an impact on Wilson when it comes to Pickens, his personality, and the talent he possesses.
Appearing on the 7PM in Brooklyn podcast with NBA Hall of Famer Carmelo Anthony, Wilson defended Pickens against the criticism he gets for his outbursts and attitude issues.
“Man, I love George. His ability to catch the football is one of a kind. Anything in his vicinity, he’s [going] catch it. Hopefully he doesn’t catch none of them against us,” Wilson said, according to video via the show’s YouTube page. “On a serious note, he’s misunderstood. He wants to be great, you know? I think, also, too, his ability, where he can take it from not just being great, to being one the world’s best, I think he has that in him.
“I’m always rooting for guys I’ve played with, just not when we play ’em.”
Wilson and Pickens had a good relationship throughout the 2024 season. At one point Pickens spoke highly of Wilson during an appearance on The Adam Schefter Podcast, stating that he was grateful to have a leader like Wilson to learn from.
Once Wilson was on the field in Week 7 against the New York Jets on Sunday Night Football, Pickens started to really take off.
From Week 7 on last season, Pickens hauled in 33 of his 59 passes from Wilson for 537 yards and all three of his touchdowns. In his first game with Wilson under center, Pickens went for 111 yards and a touchdown on five receptions against the Jets, kick-starting a good partnership together.
Pickens missed three games late in the year with a hamstring injury, which hampered the Steelers’ passing attack, but in their final game together Wilson and Pickens had some success. Wilson connected with the young receiver five times for 87 yards and a touchdown in the Steelers’ AFC Wild Card loss to the Baltimore Ravens.
Despite that success with Wilson under center, Pickens couldn’t stay out of his own way at times. He picked up unsportsmanlike conduct penalties after big plays against the Bengals in Week 13, lost his cool in his return from a hamstring injury on Christmas Day against the Chiefs, got into it with fans in the regular-season finale against the Bengals at Acrisure Stadium after multiple ugly drops, and more.
Wilson just sees a misunderstood guy, though, one who wants to be great but doesn’t quite know how to handle himself. In large part, that’s why the Steelers ultimately decided to move on from Pickens, shipping him to Dallas. Wilson thinks he’ll be great there, and he very well might be.
But he’s going to need to figure out the maturity aspect of the game, finding that balance between playing with an edge and not hurting his team. He couldn’t figure that out in Pittsburgh under a universally respected head coach in Mike Tomlin, so we’ll see if he can figure that out elsewhere.
Check out the full interview with Russell Wilson below.
