The Pittsburgh Steelers have had some tremendous talent at the wide receiver position throughout the franchise's history. Some of the best to ever play the position have suited up for the black and gold, and a player that could be on that same path is third-year receiver George Pickens. Pickens clearly has the talent to be one of the best pass-catchers in the NFL, but he has been held back by his immaturity and behavior on the field.
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Steelers' George Pickens gestures towards Bengals fans.
During Pittsburgh's win over the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 13, Pickens hurt the offense on more than one occasion. During the first quarter, he caught a pass from Russell Wilson, and the young receiver dropped the ball on a Bengals defender, which resulted in a 15-yard taunting penalty. A similar incident occurred later in the game when Pickens hauled in a 36-yard pass, but he was called for Unsportsmanlike Conduct, which backed the offense up another 15 yards.
Following the game, Head Coach Mike Tomlin spoke to the media and told them that Pickens had to grow up and mature, which is frowned upon by some. Head coaches don't usually call their players out publicly, so it was a bit of a surprise to hear from Tomlin. Ben Roethlisberger spoke about his former head coach doing this on the most recent episode of Footbahlin With Ben Roethlisberger.
"It was like a, 'Hey listen, c'mon now,'" Roethlisberger said. "I don't know that I remember him [Tomlin] doing that to a receiver in a long time, like a number one, a dude like that. I thought that was big by him to do that. I think it needed to be done. You can't hurt your team like that. When you start getting to the postseason, every little penalty, all those things are going to hurt you. So for Coach T to come out and say that and make a big deal about it, I thought that was well done and well deserved."
Tomlin has had plenty of reasons to call out some players throughout his 18 years being the head coach in Pittsburgh, especially at the wide receiver position. He coached Antonio Brown throughout the 2010s, and Brown definitely deserved to be called out publicly at some times, especially towards the end of his career with the Steelers.
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Steelers' George Pickens celebrates with his teammates after a big time touchdown.
During the game against the Bengals, Pickens caught just three passes, but they went for 74 yards and a touchdown. He definitely had a good game, but it would be looked at more fondly if it weren't for the penalties that came after the whistle. It is one thing when a player has an issue with committing penalties during a play, which was seen from Joey Porter Jr. in the game on Sunday. However it is malicious to the team to willingly do things on the field that could be flagged after the whistle.
On Pickens' second penalty of the day, the offense was pushed backwards 15 yards, and the drive stalled out. Pittsburgh was forced to attempt a field goal, and the kick was blocked by the Bengals. Had the kick of been shorter, Chris Boswell may have been able to get it over the hands of the defense for an additional three points. This is a glaring example of why Pickens must clean up his behavior on the field.
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Steelers' George Pickens hauls in a pass along the sideline in a win over the Cincinnati Bengals during the 2024 season.
Steelers' George Pickens Must Prove Himself In The Coming Weeks
Pickens has already shown what he can do on the field, and he is one of the most promising young receivers in the league. However, after publicly being called out by Tomlin, it is crucial that Pickens can prove he can keep his emotions in check in the coming weeks. Pittsburgh has some big games coming up against powerful opponents, and Pickens can't make the same mistakes against them that he did against Cincinnati.
What did you think about Tomlin calling Pickens out? Do you agree with Roethlisberger? Let us know in the comments below!
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