Bell: How Good Has George Pickens Been This Season? (+)

Who would have predicted that the Pittsburgh Steelers would be 3-0 with a multi-game lead in the AFC North at this point during the season? Not many around the league, that’s for sure. All of the new pieces on the offensive side of the ball was a huge storyline this offseason and a reason many were hesitant to buy into this product. It featured brand new quarterback room, an offensive coordinator getting a much needed reset among other variables — chief among them the play of wide receiver George Pickens.

But if the team had nothing else in terms of established commodities, Pittsburgh had George Pickens. After a breakout sophomore season, the Georgia product was slated to take full control of the WR1 spot vacated by Diontae Johnson. Now that we have a small sample size of games to work with, I wanted to complete an early season check in on his progress by looking through his production thus far, usage in Arthur Smith’s system and notes from things that I’ve observed on film.

Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver George Pickens at practice on Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2024. — Ed Thompson / Steelers Now