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Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver George Pickens. Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Steelers star WR blames play-calling for his disappointing production

By Adam Gretz | Last updated 12/14/23

Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver George Pickens has been visibly frustrated during recent games as his number of targets and big plays have taken a significant hit in the second half of the season. On Thursday, he addressed some of the concerns with his lack of playmaking and production by pointing out that he can only do so much with the routes he has been given.

Pickens told Brian Batko of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette that he can't really produce when he's being asked to run three- and five-yard routes.

“I don’t know. You guys be at practice, right? I would just say I hope to see things like that. When it’s routes like that, I mean, I can’t really produce that way, running 5-yard routes, 3-yard routes,” Pickens said.

A quick look at the routes he was targeted on during their Thursday night loss to the New England Patriots shows a shockingly small route tree that kept him almost entirely near the line of scrimmage.

The George Pickens route target chart versus Patriots #Steelers #NFL pic.twitter.com/SVdnovIA23
— Steelers Depot 7⃣ (@Steelersdepot) December 8, 2023

Targeting Pickens on plays like that is not playing to his strengths at all. At this point in his career, he's not the most polished route-runner on the team, while he is at his best when he is being used as a vertical target in the passing game and being asked to go up and make tough catches. He has demonstrated that ability on multiple occasions throughout the first two years of his career and has shown flashes of being an impact player.

He topped the 100-yard mark in three of his first six games this season and had 27 receptions for 500 yards during that stretch. Since then, he has caught just 22 passes for only 267 yards in the seven games that have followed. That is a night-and-day difference.

Part of that is due to the return of wide receiver Diontae Johnson and tight end Pat Freiermuth from injury. There is also the fact the Steelers have become far more effective at running the football in the second half of the season and have played to that strength more often. But another part of it is the fact the Steelers offense has simply not been designed for big plays or vertical passing.

That's not only frustrating the team's fans, but it's also frustrating their most talented wide receiver. It's also wasting his greatest strength.
Pickens might not always be completely wide open, but he is the type of wide receiver who does not need five yards of separation to make a catch. He has demonstrated that he is going to win a lot of 50-50 jump balls and make tough catches due to his athleticism, size and strength.
The Steelers need him to make more big plays. They also need to give him more of a chance to do so.

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