George Pickens has been one of the best deep ball receivers in the NFL since he was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 2022 NFL Draft. No matter who has thrown him the ball - and there have been a lot of different guys throwing him the ball - he routinely makes the difficult jump ball receptions downfield at a rate where it’s just expected at this point, and he is by far the best receiver the Steelers currently have on their roster.
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The drawback with Pickens, though, is no secret - his attitude. There has been drama from the former Georgia star dating back to the 2023 season when he cleared his Instagram of anything Steelers related amidst frustrations with lack of receptions. That same year, he had multiple on-field breakdowns, specifically in a Thursday night loss to the New England Patriots. In 2024, there were several penalties he was given for taunting, unnecessary roughness, and he got into a fight with Cleveland Browns cornerback Greg Newsome at the end of the Steelers’ loss to the Browns in Cleveland in the Thursday night snow globe game.
Frankly speaking, Pickens has to grow up. And it isn’t just Steelers fans that believe that, former Browns star receiver Josh Gordon said as much in a recent interview with Kyle Odegard of Casino Beats.
“The off-the-field stuff, I can’t touch on it too much,” Gordon said. “Because it’s personal, right? I can’t say if he’s dealing with anything, but if someone says it then it becomes a thing, and it becomes reality: oh, he’s a bad-effort guy. Maybe he is just tired, but that’s a part of professionalism. If you’re the No. 1 guy, you have to always be in the game, and there’s never an off switch with you. We don’t want to see you b*tch and moan. We want to see you go 110% because that’s what you’re here to do. If that’s the demand, and if he’s ready for that, then the rest should take care of itself. He’ll make that decision and you’ll see a different player. Mentally, he’ll be locked in. Because talent isn’t the issue.”
The on-field tantrums and visible checking out of games have long been the largest criticisms against Pickens, and are seemingly issues he can’t fix. Hopefully this season will bring new found maturity for the star receiver and the attitude issue won’t be discussed any further. Until that comes to fruition, though, that will be the label he wears.
