Expectations are very high for Pittsburgh Steelers third-year wide receiver George Pickens in 2024. He’s the only wideout on the team’s roster who had more than 210 receiving yards last season.
With Pickens clearly the best outside threat in Pittsburgh’s offense, opposing defenses are likely to game plan a way to stop or at least slow down the 23-year-old.
Last year, when Pickens hasn’t been involved in the team’s offense, he grew frustrated. But Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin isn’t worried about that being an issue in 2024.
“I think he’s grown in all areas, not only in terms of skill relative to his position, and he has a lot of that, but the nuances of the game,” Tomlin told reporters on September 3. “Getting in and out of cuts, hand selection and so forth. He’s grown in a lot of ways and then obviously as a human.
“He’s grown in the ways that you expect young guys to grow in terms of knowledge of the game, and what it means to be a professional and how to conduct yourself.”
When asked specifically about how Pickens will deal with the extra attention he is likely to receive from opposing defenses, at first, Tomlin deflected the question.
“I think George has gotten attention all of his life as it pertains to football,” Tomlin said. “I think that’s nothing new to him.”
But to a follow-up question about if he was confident Pickens will handle that extra attention in a positive way, Tomlin answered, “absolutely.”
George Pickens to be Steelers No. 1 WR
Pickens and the Steelers received a little taste of the young wideout as the team’s No. 1 outside target last year when Diontae Johnson was sidelined because of injury.
Johnson missed Weeks 2-5, and during that stretch, Pickens posted 17 catches for 357 yards and 2 touchdowns. He had at least 75 yards in three of those four contests.
Pickens had a lot more games where he wasn’t involved on offense when Johnson was in the lineup. The Steelers struggled offensively last season, particularly in the passing game. So, there weren’t a lot of targets for both Johnson and Pickens.
In the final 12 games of the season, Johnson averaged 6.8 targets and 4 catches per game. Pickens registered 5.5 targets and 3.4 catches per contest during the same stretch.
Pickens, though, made the most of his opportunities. He led the NFL with 18.1 yards per reception.
Without Johnson, who the Steelers traded to the Carolina Panthers, Pickens will undoubtably see more double coverage. In all likelihood, his yards per catch average will drop. But his targets, catches and overall yards are still likely to increase, especially if he’s grown as Tomlin suggested.
Steelers WR Depth Heading Into Week 1
The Athletic named Pittsburgh’s wide receiver depth its biggest concern entering the 2024 season. It’s not hard to see why.
The Steelers will start Van Jefferson opposite Pickens in Week 1. Although Jefferson recorded 802 receiving yards in 2021, he wasn’t able to match that total in the last two years combined.
The Steelers also have veteran Scotty Miller, third-year receiver Calvin Austin III and rookie Roman Wilson on the active roster.
“That the Steelers were interested in a player (Brandon Aiyuk) who would have cost more than T.J. Watt to employ tells you the team itself must be concerned about receiver depth,” wrote The Athletic’s Mike DeFabo.
The Steelers also have receivers Quez Watkins, Ben Skowronek and Brandon Johnson that they can elevate from the practice squad.
The hope is at least one or two of those wideouts can be enough of a threat that opposing defenses can’t always focus all of their attention on Pickens.
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Mike Tomlin Gets Candid on Attention George Pickens Will See as Steelers Top WR