Steelers Insider Believes Team Needs To Pay Close Attention To George Pickens' Latest Antics

Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver, George Pickens has had some inconsistent performances as of late. After back-to-back 100-yard games, he had just one catch in Week 8, albeit for a 22-yard touchdown. For the most part, it hasn't been his fault. Unfortunately, he's stuck on this inept offense. Coming out of college though, Pickens fell in the 2022 NFL Draft due to injury concerns.

That hasn't been a prevalent issue so far in Pittsburgh, especially the former, as he's yet to miss a game. As of late though, some other things have gotten in the way of his play. In Week 7 against the Los Angeles Rams, he picked up a 15-yard penalty late in the game for taunting after the play. In Week 8, he made some bulletin board material comments about the Jacksonville Jaguars. In his weekly chat on Wednesday, Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette thinks the team needs to step in before things get too ugly.

"The question is not when will HE [Pickens] learn to correct this. It's when will THEY [Steelers] do something to stop it."

Wide receivers are known for bringing the most drama to NFL teams. The Steelers have been no stranger to this, which has included several different instances over the years. Most notably, Head Coach Mike Tomlin dealt with superstar Antonio Brown's antics for years. Eventually, things got so bad that the team traded him away to the Oakland (Las Vegas) Raiders.

In varying degrees, the coaching staff also dealt with these kind of issues with guys like Chase Claypool and JuJu Smith-Schuster. In particular, Claypool started to receive a bad reputation from the fan base, and he was also eventually traded. None of this is to say Pickens is in the same boat as those guys, but the franchise has to be cautious.

Should The Steelers Be Concerned About Pickens' Recent Issues?

In the past, it has come back to bite them when they don't address these things. Now Tomlin may have personally addressed these recent antics with Pickens already. But it was just days ago in which Pickens caught just one pass after irritating Jaguars defenders with some comments made before the game. Of course, the Jaguars defense loved that they only held the wideout to one catch on Sunday, as they did their fair share of chirping after the game. 

Against the Rams, former Steelers cornerback, Ahkello Witherspoon made it a point of emphasis to try and get in the young receiver's head. He achieved that goal in the fourth quarter, as Pickens picked up a costly penalty. The team responded and were able to walk away with a victory, but it's only a matter of time before these instances really hurt the team. On Wednesday, Pickens was pretty blunt when asked about his lack of targets.

Again, he's remained productive on the field. Through seven games in 2023, he has 28 catches for 522 yards and three touchdowns. His 18.6 yards per catch ranks second in the NFL through the first two months of the season. But, as Dulac argues, the Steelers must make sure these recent issues don't blow up into something bigger. It's important to remember how different wide receivers are than any other position on the team. We see this around the league with several other talented players, as it's not just happening in Pittsburgh.

Do you agree with Dulac's comments that the Steelers need to do something to stop Pickens' antics? Should this be a concern long-term, or is this more of cautiousness with the past issues that Pittsburgh has had? Has Pickens become the team's No. 1 wide receiver? Share your thoughts in the comment section below, yinz!

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