George Pickens reveals the best advice he has gotten from Mike Tomlin

The expectations are high for Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver George Pickens as he enters his second season with the team following a rookie year filled with numerous highlight tape-worthy catches and blocks last season. And as he tries to build on the solid foundation he set in 2022, Pickens has one of the NFL’s most elite head coaches with Mike Tomlin as a mentor and presence in his corner.

Pickens made a recent appearance on ‘The Rich Eisen Show’ and was asked by Eisen what advice he’s received from Tomlin.

“One of the biggest things he tells me personally is just routine plays routinely,” Pickens said. “Take the mystique out of it and if a ball comes your way make the routine catch, make the routine plays.”

Tomlin has made winning a part of his annual routine since he’s become the Steelers’ head man in 2007, boasting 16 straight seasons with a .500 record or better including a Super Bowl victory in 2008. And as he looks to lead Pittsburgh back to the mountaintop, Pickens believes that consistency across the board will be able to take the team a long way behind Tomlin.

“I feel like it’ll help the team,” Pickens said. “We make the routine plays, with a lot of other guys making routine plays, that’ll just help us collectively.”

Pittsburgh’s young offense core has the potential to perform at a high level this season if they do in fact make all the routine plays. Quarterback Kenny Pickett, like Pickens, also enters his second season in the NFL with weapons like third-year running back Najee Harris, and third-year tight end Pat Freiermuth surrounding him.

But routine doesn’t exactly describe Pickens’ play style, as he’s already gained a reputation across the league for his ability to make spectacular catches. He went viral on social media for a dazzling one-handed catch versus the Cleveland Browns and even made another during training camp recently over rookie cornerback Joey Porter Jr. But Pickens believes that Tomlin’s advice to make routine plays routinely is a slight on his playmaking or his detail on the little things.

“I wouldn’t necessarily say that, because he was actually telling me this before I even got here during the draft process and stuff like that. So he’s been kind of telling me that before the buzz and the hype, so I wouldn’t really say that,” Pickens explained.

Pickens recently proclaimed himself as the best wide receiver in the world, and has definitely shown flashes of it in his young career. But his combination of big play ability and making all the routine ones may put him in that new rarified air this upcoming season.