ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — George Pickens wasn’t happy with the circumstances under which his second NFL season ended. But on whole, he was pleased with his own individual performance during the 2023 season.
“Yeah, for sure,” Pickens said from the visitor’s locker room after the Pittsburgh Steelers’ wild-card playoff loss at the Buffalo Bills on Monday. “I just feel like this year I showed everybody that I am a playmaker. Some people just thought I was (merely) a ‘go’ ball guy. As you can see, I can do it all.”
Pickens’ raw production improved over his rookie season, going from 52 to 63 receptions, 801 to 1,140 yards and from four to five receiving touchdowns. His yards per catch also went up — from 15.4 as a rookie to a league-leading 18.1. He dramatically improved his yards-after-catch production.
Only three NFL players had more catches that gained 40 or more yards than Pickens (six), and only eight had more catches of 20-plus yards (22).
It was the type of season that showed Pickens had arrived as belonging among the NFL’s best receivers. Enough so that aside from general overall continued work, Pickens doesn’t view any individual aspect of his game as needing refining or improvement when he looks at his goals for the offseason.
“I have always been a training guy — trying to get better every, every, every year,” Pickens said. “But as far as my game (skillset)? I don’t know. I feel like I showed everybody. Rookie year, I was just a ‘go’ ball guy. This year, more routes, run plays, catching stuff over the middle, breaking tackles. So, I don’t know what I should do (to improve) personally.”
“You can’t play (against an) NFL team and the refs. You can’t play a game of football when you’re trying to play the refs, too.”https://t.co/d9j86CagRx
— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) January 16, 2024
Among AFC wide receivers, Pickens finished ninth in receiving yards. He of course led the conference in yards per catch but was 18th in receptions and tied for 13th in receiving touchdowns.
Pickens was not selected to the AFC roster for the Pro Bowl, something that prior social media posts indicated had irked him. Late Monday in Orchard Park, N.Y. after criticizing the officiating during the Steelers’ playoff loss, Pickens also blamed “politics” for getting left out of the Pro Bowl games.
“For the Pro Bowl, the stats show it — it’s just politics,” Pickens said. “That’s all. It’s going to come to a point where people start watching the game and knowing it’s political over everything — who is on the team and what type of players a team has. It’s, for sure, political.”
Related:
• Steelers QB Mason Rudolph faced with questions about next season• Steelers’ George Pickens: ‘Not gonna win a game when you have to play the refs and the Buffalo Bills’
• Mike Tomlin's future among many pressing questions as Steelers enter offseason
Pickens’ talent and skillset have never been in question. He lasted into the second round of the 2022 draft in large part because of a torn ACL suffered the year before. But Pickens also has engaged in behavior on the field and in the locker room that, according to a CBS Sports report Monday, has subjected Pickens to more than $200,000 in fines from the league and team this season.
Odds are, Pickens’ comments about the officiating in Buffalo are only going to add to that total.
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