It's been no secret that Pittsburgh Steelers second round selection George Pickens has a few red flags. It's part of the reason he was available for the Steelers to select him in the second round. The other being the fact he missed nearly all of 2021 as he recovered from an ACL injury. But the Steelers weren't deterred by the outside noise surrounding Pickens.
Wide receivers Chase Claypool (#11 - left) and George Pickens (#1 - right) will suit up for Pittsburgh in 2022. | SI.com
A story ran prior to the 2022 NFL Draft on The Athletic that was put together by Brian Feldman and in that story they documented different things they had heard from team officials throughout the draft process.
According to the report, one league source managed to say something flattering about Pickens having, “a lot of upside,'' but then added, "but he can’t get out of his own way.”
Another, a wide receivers coach, claims Pickens has “some issues.” And yet another wide receivers coach asserts that Pickens has, “just so many red flags, and they’re big red flags.”
“He’s got some growing up to do,” that second wideouts coach said.
On the field, Pickens was ejected for a fight, and penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct for squirting water on an opposing player that was tackled onto the Georgia sidelines. Those are fixable. And they will be fixed under the tutelage of head coach Mike Tomlin, along with the likes of Cam Heyward and TJ Watt.
The belief from those close to Pickens is that he went to the right team. A team that has a good culture and a mountain of a leader in Tomlin. Monday, ESPN's Jeremy Fowler described the thoughts he heard from those closest to Pickens.
In the second round, wide receiver George Pickens entered an ideal scenario. Questions about his work ethic swirled around draft time. Many evaluators thought, on talent alone, he belonged in the conversation with the top wideouts, but he ended up going No. 52. Pickens and people close to him are happy he is going to a good environment like Pittsburgh's to learn from trusted veterans and absorb a model NFL culture. The truth about Pickens is he was heralded as a five-star talent since high school and probably let his focus slip at times. But being a first-round talent and slipping to Day 2 should refocus him in Pittsburgh.
Pickens will enter a Steelers receiving room that's a complete re-build from what they had just a season ago. The veteran presence of JuJu Smith-Schuster and James Washington is gone. Diontae Johnson remains, but his isn't a vocal leader. Quiet by nature, Johnson typically lets his play speak for its self. Pickens will be joining third-year receiver Chase Claypool who unexpectedly has had some maturity issues following a spectacular rookie season. While Claypool has said the right things this off-season, we won't know if he's grown up or not until he hits the field.
New Steelers receivers coach Frisman Jackson is going to have his hands full with a room that lacks a true leader. But the talent is there in the room. He isn't receiving a room with little talent. It's going to be his job to harness all of the bad energy and get this talented group to show it on the field in a positive way.
Do you think Pickens landed on the right team here in Pittsburgh? Or would he have been suited better elsewhere? Click to comment below!
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