Steelers' George Pickens Should Be The Catalyst For New Offensive Approach That Would Be Terrifying For NFL Defenses In 2023

The Pittsburgh Steelers 2023 NFL Draft is getting a lot of attention and rightfully so, Omar Khan, Andy Weidl, and Mike Tomlin put together an impressive class. The bottom line though is that none of those players have played one down in the NFL and it remains to be seen what they can do in the fall. The Steelers need big contributions from the highly touted class, but they also need a huge step forward from the player who was touted as the steal of the draft in 2022, George Pickens.

Pickens was the Georgia Bulldogs player in the spotlight last offseason. It started in training camp and continued throughout a highly productive rookie season. The now second-year player was immediately the most impressive physical specimen of all the Steelers’ skill players. Pickens' contagious smile and seemingly bottomless well of self-confidence was a breath of fresh air and a source for unbridled optimism, especially after Mason Rudolph found him in the corner of the end zone in his first NFL preseason game against the Seattle Seahawks.

There were highlight catches to be sure and plenty of head-scratching moments during the 2022 season. Matt Canada elected not to use him in the Atlanta Falcons game as anything more than a decoy and used him less at the end of the season on running plays and in the red zone than in the beginning. If you are looking for evidence that Canada is simply bad at deploying personnel, look no further than his use of Pickens down the stretch.

There is a lot to like about Pickens’s game and other than absolute exhaustion, there are precious few reasons why the best blocking wide receiver in the NFL should come off the field when the Steelers have the ball in 2023. The one adjustment that Tomlin should force his offensive coordinator to make after watching the game film is that on running plays, the Steelers need all three Georgia Bulldogs on the field to open holes for Najee Harris.

Pickens has work to do on his game and must improve his route running in 2023. The second-year receiver has phenomenal hands, but there is more work to be done. He demonstrated last season that he may already be the best-contested catch receiver in the NFL, but Pickens has to find his way into the middle of the field, not just the sidelines. Virtually every big catch that he made was outside the numbers and he will have to demonstrate the ability to catch the ball between the hashes and turn seven-yard completions into 20-yard gains.

The physicality of Pickens would seem to indicate that he will be even more dangerous in run-after-catch situations, and he could turn into another punishing weapon for the Steelers. The Pittsburgh offense with Harris, Darnell Washington, Pickens, Jaylen Warren, and Pat Freiermuth are all punishing runners who deliver hits rather than take them. The Steelers should wear defenses down throughout the game and Kenny Pickett could be at the helm of quite a few fourth-quarter touchdown drives.

The ability to wear down smaller defenses that are designed to play nickel and dime against the pass-happy modern NFL cannot be undersold as a weapon. The number one priority of the bully ball style the Steelers seem to be intending to play is that you have to score touchdowns. The Steelers won’t beat the high-powered teams in the AFC 21-17. They need easy scores late in games when defenses are so tired of dragging the Steelers’ playmakers to the turf that midway through the third quarter, they just can’t do it anymore.

Steelers' George Pickens Has To Have A Bigger Role On Offense According To Georgia Insider

Khan, Weidl, and Tomlin have assembled one of the most physically impressive sets of skill position players in the current NFL. It is incumbent on Canada to use them to beat opponents into submission on offense. Pickens will be a huge key to adding easy touchdowns, from tired press corners who just don’t have the strength to fight with him late in games. That won’t happen unless they consistently throw him the ball throughout the game to wear down opposing defenses.

Tomlin presided over the most physical defense of this century. If he wants to return to the Super Bowl, he has to embrace that the only way to get away with that kind of play in 2023 is on offense. The Steelers have the personnel to do it, the question is can Pickens emerge as the physical leader of the young offense like James Harrison did for the defense during the last Super Bowl runs?

What do you think, Steeler Nation? Should the Steelers embrace a physical offensive approach that punishes unsuspecting defenses? Please comment below or on my Twitter @thebubbasq.