Pittsburgh Steelers rookie, George Pickens impressed a lot of people during his first season. Pickens established himself nationally with a phenomenal catch against the Cleveland Browns on a Thursday Night Football game on Amazon and then sprinkled in a series of acrobatic catches throughout the year. It is no secret to anyone but Matt Canada that Pickens is going to be a special player and the Steelers have to increase his opportunities to make plays.
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Steelers' George Pickens' incredible catch.
Matt Bowen, who writes for ESPN.com and is an NFL analyst for the network, participated in a 2023 NFL predictions article with his fellow correspondents. When asked who a candidate to breakout next season would be, Bowen identified the Steelers wide receiver as his pick:
“Pickens has all the traits of a boundary receiver who can be isolated to win with his frame, Ball skills, and three-level ability,” Bowen wrote. “Given another year of development and with quarterback Kenny Pickett, Pickens should play a difference-making role in '23.”
Bowen played seven seasons in the NFL as a safety for the Los Angeles Rams, Green Bay Packers, Washington Commanders, and Buffalo Bills. He appears on the NFL Matchup television show and has been working with ESPN since 2015. Pickens joined two other rookies as breakout candidates in the article. Jameson Williams from the Detroit Lions and Drake London from the Atlanta Falcons were the other rookies mentioned.
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Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver George Pickens (14) celebrates a touchdown with quarterback Kenny Pickett, a fellow rookie, in a 28-14 victory against the Cleveland Browns in Pittsburgh, Jan. 8, 2023.
Pickett to Pickens might be an obvious connection, but no more so than Kirk Cousins to Justin Jefferson or Josh Allen to Stefon Diggs. Defenses know what is coming when they face the Minnesota Vikings and Buffalo Bills, but they can’t stop it. Pickens is so much bigger and stronger than the defensive backs he is facing, Pickett just needs to commit to letting the ball go. The former Georgia Bulldog has demonstrated he will reward him with strong sure hands.
Pickens inexplicably was under-utilized during his rookie season. During the second half of the season, despite his talent, he was only playing about 75 percent of the offensive snaps. The rookie is not only a willing blocker in the run game, but he is also a vicious one. Pickens's physicality was underutilized by Canada, and he often found himself watching Gunner Olszewski blocking instead of him. This was especially noticeable in the red zone.
Steelers' TJ Watt Recognizes Rookie Wide Receiver George Pickens Is Only Going To Get Better
The Steelers struggled mightily to score touchdowns and if Canada wants to improve, the Steelers have to trade in Chris Boswell field goal attempts for touchdowns. The easiest way to do that is not to take your best blocker and red zone target off the field and actually throw him the ball inside the red zone. Pickens caught four of the Steelers’ 12 touchdown passes on the season, proving he could produce touchdowns when given the opportunity.
Pickens was third on the Steelers with 84 targets and 52 receptions, but averaged 15.4 yards per catch which led the team. Diontae Johnson almost doubled Pickens in targets but could only produce 81 more receiving yards on 34 more receptions. ESPN Analytics did credit Johnson as one of the best receivers in the NFL at getting open which may explain why a rookie would be tempted to target him at a higher rate, but Pickens actually converted more targets to catches than the veteran receiver.
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Steelers George Pickens And Diontae Johnson
The Steelers have two extremely talented wideouts and if Pickett takes the next step could have one of the best duos in the NFL. Johnson may not like it, but he isn’t the playmaker that Pickens already is and he will have to be content with at least equal distribution of the football. The pair of second-year players will have a full off-season to work together and if they get on the same page, then Pickens will prove Bowen’s production and take a huge jump forward in year two.
What do you think, Steeler Nation? Are you excited to see what year two of the Pickett to Pickens combination has in store for the black and gold? Please comment below or on my Twitter @thebubbasq.
