Steelers At Their Best When George Pickens Goes Deep Says Confident NFL Insider

The Pittsburgh Steelers knew that a gift had just fallen into their lap when they selected George Pickens in the second round of the 2022 NFL Draft. The only reason he fell past the first round was the injury concerns over a torn ACL that kept him out of practically all of the 2021 college season at the University of Georgia. All Pickens did to prove his doubters wrong was make ridiculous one-handed catches, showing incredible strength on contested passes, all while racking up 801 yards and four touchdowns. Now the focus is building on that rookie year for a fast-approaching 2023 season.

Steelers Hoping Allen Robinson Can Help Pickens' Growth

The topics of Pickens and his growth were key points when Jeff Hathhorn, Sports Director at 93.7 The Fan, joined Chris Carter on his Locked On Steelers Podcast.

Hathhorn and Carter were discussing the strength that Pickens showed on deep balls when he simply refused to allow anything less than a catch. While those moments were exciting during the game, the conversation turned to Chase Claypool, who wasn't able to build on his rookie talents. Claypool's story isn't a rare one, as Hathhorn pointed out. It isn't enough to be big and strong. The NFL is different and if a player can't bring something else to the table then it usually spells trouble.

“I think sometimes guys in college, even at a Georgia, can rely and get away with their athleticism and they’re not as crisp as they need to be. I think now is the time to take that next step.”

If anyone brought up receiver Allen Robinson II, you are on the same page as Hathhorn who sees the Robinson acquisition as one of the key moves Pittsburgh has made. The role that Robinson could play in Pickens' development is an exciting prospect and not one to be overlooked as training camp approaches.

“I think this is where Allen Robinson comes into play. Not just for a guy that can go down into the slot and make some plays, potentially have a bounce-back season, but a guy who can be in that room. Someone that George could come up to after a team meeting or on the side and say, hey can I come over for dinner? And just, like, pick his brain…Robinson, I think, could be—you could look back at all the different add’s, Seumalo, guys that they’ve brought over in free agency. Allen Robinson might be the most important to this team.”

Steelers Shouldn't Overthink Pickens' Role For 2023

One of the many frustrating aspects of the Steelers' offense in 2022 was the lack of deep chances they would take, despite Pickens turning those long passes into amazing catches more often than not. A painful lack of creativity by Offensive Coordinator, Matt Canada, played a role in the lack of deep production in the passing game. Since the Steelers made the head-scratching decision to bring Canada back for 2023, the goal has to be finding a way to push the ball downfield anyways, highlighting Pickens as the man to carry that load.

Carter and Hathhorn also spent some time looking over Pickens' success in relation to the routes he ran and the results were broken down into a pretty straightforward statement; Pickens has found success with the deep ball already. There is a great deal of curiosity about how much more polished Pickens will be in 2023 regarding his route tree and footwork, but Hathhorn doesn't see the need for things to go in that direction. Instead, because the Steelers have receivers who already know how to navigate the middle of the field, let Pickens do what he does best.

“I would hope that the Steelers coaches would look at that [Pickens improving footwork and hands] and say, alright, it’s year two, let’s not confuse him too much. Let’s get him to perfect those deep balls, because we’ve got guys that can catch it over the middle.”

Steelers' Success Depends On Pickens Deep Ball Prowess

It isn't just that letting Pickens free down the field will lead to a more productive offense, Hathhorn sees the success of Pittsburgh's season correlating directly with them throwing him deep passes. During the late-season surge that saw Pittsburgh salvage the season at 9-8, the wins started to pile up when Pickens saw more down-the-field work on a consistent basis. It wasn't just satiating the young receiver. When Pickens had that freedom, it led to winning ways in Pittsburgh.

“If you look at the last five games, Pickens’ yards per reception were four yards higher than at any point previously in the season. And what do you know, they were 4-1 over the last five games of the season…If you can get Pickens 1,000 yards this year, and 5, 6, 7, 8 touchdowns…I don’t think that’s pie in the sky for George Pickens.”

With the combination of Robinson as a mentor in the receiver's room and a directive to get Pickens the ball deep, the Steelers could be looking at a pretty reliable blueprint going into the 2023 season. Second-year quarterback, Kenny Pickett, will surely have no problem launching the ball to Pickens several times a game, and even more so when the production starts and winning follows.

It isn't necessary to complicate the issue. Pickens is an excellent deep receiver, and because of that, there should be no problem letting him do just that. If the real problem is Canada standing in the way, that's a bridge that can be burned later. For now, at least, it stands that Pittsburgh wants to win and would be just fine doing so on the hands of Pickens. Hathhorn sees it the same way, stating quite simply that if Pittsburgh follows the blueprint, you'll have a happy receiver and a winning football team.

“I don’t think there’s anything wrong with telling George to go deep!”

Should George Pickens focus on his deep ball more than anything else in 2023? Let us know in the comments!

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