Former All-Pro WR Rips Steelers Usage of George Pickens: ‘He’s Special, But They Don’t Use Him’
Like Terrell Owens, fellow Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe also called Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver George Pickens out for dogging it on Russell Wilson’s crucial red zone interception in Wednesday’s 29-10 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs
“Pickens is going to have to stop being so emotional on every play,” Sharpe said on the Nightcap podcast with former Cincinnati Bengals All-Pro wide receiver Chad Johnson. “Every play he doesn’t get the ball, like oh my goodness, oh Lord, have mercy. I know he’s a phenomenal talent, the difficulty of the catches that he makes on a consistent basis, but if he were to channel a lot of that energy, I don’t think he realize just how good he can be. I don’t think he realizes he got special abilities.”
It turns out that Pickens’ route didn’t matter on the interception. Chiefs safety Justin Reid said he was going to pick off Wilson’s ill-advised pass regardless.
“Woulda been the same result. You are correct that I was never concerned with backside WR to begin with,” Reid replied on X to Dan Orlovsky of ESPN.
Johnson disagreed with Sharpe’s assessment on Pickens. He thinks the Steelers are misusing the star wide receiver.
“I wish they would realize it too and maximize his potential,” Johnson told Sharpe. “Put him in different positions to make some of those plays outside of go ball here, go ball there. Move him around, let him touch it early. You know he’s a playmaker. I’ve seen him glance and go to the house. He can do some of the same things that Tee Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase can do, he’s special, but they don’t use him in that sense.”
The Steelers lost each of their last three games by at least 14 points. It’s the first time since 1988 that the Steelers have lost three straight by at least two touchdowns.
The Steelers were out-scored 90-40 in their losses to the Philadelphia Eagles, Baltimore Ravens and Kansas City Chiefs. The Steelers will have to figure things out quickly with the playoffs on the horizon, as they’ve looked dreadful on both sides of the ball in the last three weeks.
During a postgame interview on the Netflix broadcast of the Steelers-Chiefs game, Pickens went up to Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce to shake their hands.
While it could be a stretch, the interaction got people speculating that Pickens might want out of Pittsburgh.
“My thought was, he’s saying, ‘Come get me,'” Florio said via video from the NFL on NBC’s YouTube page. “I feel like Pickens has been at that point of, ‘I’ve had enough here’ for a while now. It flashes from time to time. He has visions of what he could do in an offense with a higher end passing game, an offense that throws the ball more than the Steelers do … Think of all the guys who have been problematic at the receiver position that Mike Tomlin has kept under wraps until either the very end or after they’re gone. With Pickens, it’s been fairly consistent the past couple of seasons. But he’s so good that you keep finding a way to try to get the most out of him.
“In that moment yesterday, that made me think that this offseason after he has three seasons in, he’s eligible for a second contract. What are they gonna do at quarterback next year? There’s just a ton of factors that come into that. But I’m starting to think that … Maybe it’s reaching the end of the road for the Steelers and George Pickens.”
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