George Pickens airs out Year 2 goals, felt slighted after rookie season with Steelers

Pittsburgh Steelers receiver George Pickens is gearing up for his second year in the league with a bit of a chip on his shoulder.

After failing to make the Pro Bowl as a rookie, he’s using the slight as motivation to do even more in 2023.

“Year two goals are Pro Bowl, and I feel like last year I feel like I got snubbed, because there wasn’t a lot of guys in there at the Pro Bowl that excited me,” Pickens told Bo Marchionte of college2pro.com. “Then, [I want to go to] the Super Bowl. The two bowls. A lot of RAC, run after catch. Two bowls for sure.”

During his rookie season, Pickens posted 801 receiving yards on 52 receptions with four touchdowns. He finished second on the roster in receiving yards behind Diontae Johnson.

Although Pickens averaged 15.4 yards per catch, he only gained 104 yards after the catch. If he manages to improve in that area, his chances at making the Pro Bowl will skyrocket.

Of all the 2022 rookie receivers, Pickens finished fourth in yards, trailing Garrett Wilson, Chris Olave and Drake London. He had more yards per catch, however, than all the top three finishers and was the only one with a rushing touchdown as well. Like Pickens, the other standout rookie receivers didn’t make the Pro Bowl either.

Pickett on Pickens: ‘You don’t want to have him overthinking’

Discussing Pickens’ progress on 93.7 The Fan, Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett praised the second-year receiver.

“He goes out there and he does exactly what we ask him to do,” Pickett said, “And then you just let his talents take over. You don’t want to have him overthinking. I always just tell him I’m going to put it in his zipcode and he’s gonna do the rest. The guy makes unbelievable plays. Excited to go into year two with him and build off of what we did in year one together.”

The Steelers selected Pickens with the No. 52 overall pick in the second round of the 2022 NFL Draft. His record at Georgia made him one of the most coveted wideouts in the class, however, a torn ACL in his junior season likely kept him from cracking into the first round.

The Pittsburgh Steelers have several more OTA practices before taking a break leading up to training camp. They kick off the season in Week 1 with a Sunday afternoon faceoff versus the San Francisco 49ers.