Fair or not, the Pittsburgh Steelers possess a reputation for having diva wide receivers on their roster. So when rookie wideout George Pickens threw his helmet and yelled, “throw me the f****** ball” along the sidelines in Week 13, it caught the attention of a lot of fans.
Is Pickens going to be the next problem-child receiver in Pittsburgh?
It doesn’t sound like Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin thinks so. In fact, Tomlin defended his rookie receiver, indirectly calling the criticism Pickens received for his sideline tirade, “BS.”
“I’d rather say whoa than sic ’em,” Tomlin told the media on December 6. “I want a guy that wants to be a significant part of what it is we do.
“We’re got competitors. This is professional football. These guys know that they have to deliver, so for a guy that wants to do that, I’m not going to make that into a negative no matter how silly I think the commentary is — people talking about him expressing frustrations and stuff and trying to make it a negative storyline. I laugh at that.
“Again, that’s one of the reasons why we’re continuing progressing because we’re capable of tuning that BS out.”
Tomlin Defends Pickens’ ‘Competitive Spirit’
Pickens’ role in the Steelers passing game appeared to be growing heading into Week 13. Through rookie quarterback Kenny Pickett’s first seven starts, it seemed as though he had developed as good of chemistry with the rookie signal caller as any Pittsburgh pass catcher.
Going up against the No. 29-ranked pass defense in the Atlanta Falcons on December 4, Pickens should have been in line for a big day.
Instead, he only received 2 targets while Diontae Johnson led the Steelers with 11. Johnson was receiving targets despite multiple mistakes in Week 13, and it was after a Johnson fumble (eventually overturned to a drop in replay) that set Pickens off on his sideline rant.
George Pickens telling the coaches “to get him the f—king ball” after Dropson fumble
Pickens has shown he’s immensely talented, but he’s still a rookie with only 1 100-yard game and 2 touchdowns in his career. He’s hardly an established star who has the clout to go off along the sidelines for not getting the ball.
But publicly, Tomlin is trying to turn the outburst into a positive.
“That’s competitive spirit of a guy that wants the ball, I want that guy,” said Tomlin.
When Pickens has received the ball this season, good things have happened. He’s third on the team with 37 receptions and 512 receiving yards. Although Pickens only has 2 receiving touchdowns, that is tied for the team lead.
Pickens also leads all Pittsburgh receivers who have more than 3 receptions with a 13.8 yards per catch average.
Tomlin Admits Working With Pickens on Maturity & Professionalism
While the Steelers coach adamantly defended his rookie receiver and called criticism of his actions in Week 13, “BS,” Tomlin did acknowledge the elephant in the room about Pickens’ maturity.
“The appropriate and professional and mature way to express that [frustration of not getting targets], we’re growing and working on, and we will continue [to do so].”
In other words, Tomlin wants Pickens’ competitive spirit but not expressed in the way he did in Week 13.
Pickens has been working on his maturity since playing at Georgia, where he was once ejected for fighting and penalized for squirting water from a bottle towards an opponent along the sidelines. Those maturity issues were a red flag during the draft process for some NFL scouts.
Not for the Steelers, and after his biggest sign of immaturity as a rookie, the team doesn’t seem to be changing its opinion on the young wideout.
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Steelers’ Mike Tomlin Claps Back at Criticism of George Pickens