The Pittsburgh Steelers made a major coaching change a few weeks ago, moving on from offensive coordinator Matt Canada. He was replaced by Mike Sullivan as the play-caller and in some regards, the team has looked better.
Back-to-back losses to the Arizona Cardinals and New England Patriots at home is certainly not ideal, and the inconsistency the offense shows certainly played a part. One player who hasn’t benefitted much from the coaching change is wide receiver George Pickens.
Pickens has the build and skill set to be a No. 1 receiver in the NFL. He has showcased how elite he can be at times this season, but how he is being used on the field is limiting the impact that he can have.
NFL News & Rumors: George Pickens & Pittsburgh Steelers Updates
It has resulted in Pickens showing and voicing his frustrations more than once. He can be seen at times hanging his head on the sidelines and looking annoyed at how things are going. Earlier this week, he seemingly threw shade at the Steelers again.
“You guys be at practice, right? I would just say I hope to see things like that,” Pickens told reporters, via The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Brian Batko. “When it’s routes like that, I mean, I can’t really produce that way, running 5-yard routes, 3-yard routes.”
The five and three-yard routes which Pickens is referring to is a direct shot at the game plan in Week 14 against New England. With starting quarterback Mitchell Trubisky playing in place of Kenny Pickett, Pickens’ route tree looked similar to what we became accustomed to seeing under Canada.
He ran nearly all of his routes near the line of scrimmage, as his average depth of target was only 5.3 yards, the lowest of his career to this point.
NFL News & Rumors: George Pickens & Pittsburgh Steelers Updates
Pickens finished the game against the Patriots with five receptions for 19 yards. Shockingly, his 3.2 yards per target isn’t his lowest of the season. When the Steelers played against the Tennessee Titans in Week 9, Pickens had a yard-per-target average of -0.2.
“I’m just running my routes to get open,” Pickens told reporters, via Batko. “I don’t really [worry about] personnel or who’s at quarterback or the situation. I’m still doing what George does: Get open and catch the ball and score. That’s all I wanna do.”
Winning, at the end of the day, is what is most important to Pickens. He knows he can have a positive impact in that regard but the Steelers aren’t giving him much of a chance to produce. Hopefully, something changes soon, otherwise, Pittsburgh is going to find itself on the outside looking in on the playoff picture.
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