The Pittsburgh Steelers will enter the 2024 season with a brand new offense overseen by Arthur Smith, Mike Tomlin's fifth offensive coordinator during his tenure. Third-year receiver George Pickens' progress is a key piece to Pittsburgh's offense's success in 2024. The trade that sent Diontae Johnson to the Carolina Panthers left Pickens as the top pass-catcher on the Steelers' roster. If Pickens can rise to the occasion and take advantage of his opportunity, Smith's offense should prove quite dangerous.
When Pickens was still available in the second round of the 2022 NFL Draft, the Steelers pounced on the chance to pair the Georgia receiver with Johnson and did so with the 52nd overall selection. After putting up 1,941 yards and nine touchdowns in his first two NFL seasons, Pickens is poised to make a big leap in 2024.
Zach Azzanni, Pittsburgh's new receivers coach, views Pickens as a player without a ceiling and wasn't shy about stating that as a fact during the team's 2024 minicamp. However, Azzanni told Joe Rutter of Trib-Live that Pickens needs to get better.
“It’s right there for him. He’s got to pick it up, take the cheese, and do the things we ask him to do. He can do anything he wants. He’s that talented... We’ve got a long way to go with everything, but little by little … there are little things I can see. Man, there is so much in there, untapped potential. If we can get him a little bit better, it can be monumental.”
Pickens' ACL injury, which cut his 2021 collegiate season short, was one of the reasons he was around in the 2022 second round, but his tumble was Pittsburgh's gain. After storming into the NFL with 801 yards and four scores in his rookie year, he followed it up with 1,140 yards and five touchdowns in 2023. Pickens' numbers were impressive, but more importantly, he outscored Johnson in 2022 before out-gaining him completely in 2023. At every turn, Pickens proved that he was more suited for the top receiver spot than Johnson was, leading to the trade with Carolina that brought in Donte Jackson.
The Steelers paid Johnson to be the future starting receiver with a $36.7 million extension ahead of the 2022 season. The former Toledo standout was coming off his best professional campaign yet in 2021 (1,161 yards and eight touchdowns) but never topped those numbers. He rewarded Pittsburgh's financial faith with a brutal 2022 in which Johnson was held without a single receiving score and then an injury-hampered, subpar 2023.
It isn't just the gap in production that set Pickens apart from Johnson; it was the fact that he did so much with so little. Johnson's rookie year (2019) saw Ben Roethlisberger miss the majority of the season, but the former third-round pick saw his numbers steadily grow from 2019 to 2021.
However, without Roethlisberger, Johnson's production weakened in 2022, with even less in 2023; all the while, Pickens was performing regardless of what quarterback was throwing him the ball. Pittsburgh bet on Pickens, and if his track record proves anything, it means the Steelers made the right call and may have finally found another NFL-level, elite receiver.
Steelers Giving Pickens The Weapons
Pickens hasn't reached the peak of his potential yet, but with only two professional seasons under his belt, it is already clear that the former second-round pick has a very high ceiling. The years 2022 and 2023 were hardly ones that could be considered stable quarterback situations, and yet Pickens made the most without much to work with. With a combination of Kenny Pickett, Mitch Trubisky, and Mason Rudolph throwing the football, he put together nearly 2,000 yards despite the subpar passing circumstances.
Thanks to some excellent moves from Pittsburgh's front office, the 2024 quarterback group took a significant leap forward by bringing in Russell Wilson and Justin Fields. If Pickens was capable of excelling with Pickett and Rudolph throwing passes, the prospect of giving the talented receiver a real NFL quarterback is creating excitement throughout the facility. There is still a ton of time before any meaningful football is played in 2024, but the outlook for Pickens' third season is already looking bright.
