Steelers receiver George Pickens says he pulls all nighters thinking about football

Steelers receiver George Pickens is so excited about the idea of playing football that the X’s and O’s of it all keep him up at night.

Call it football-related insomnia. He admitted all this during an availability with reporters covering the Steelers start of OTAs.

“I don’t take a lot of time off,” Pickens told the Pittsburgh Post Gazette. “Sometimes I don’t even sleep. I’ll pull all-nighters, just thinking about football.”

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He’s headed into his third season with the Steelers. But the former Georgia star also will be playing with a new quarterback, maybe two, and a new offensive coordinator. Kenny Pickett is gone. The starting quarterback will either be Russell Wilson or Justin Fields. Old OC Matt Canada no longer is around. The new guy is Arthur Smith, the former head coach of the Falcons who also coordinated the Titans offense.

Smith’s offenses usually lean into the running game with lots of play action and throws to the tight end and a top receiver.

So maybe Pickett keeps awake trying to learn everything he can in order to see more throws his way.

Steelers receiver got into Mike Tomlin’s doghouse last season

Statistically, Pickens enjoyed a nice season in 2023. He caught 63 passes for 1,140 yards and five touchdowns. He was targeted 106 times. Pickens said he should’ve been selected to the Pro Bowl. But his numbers were far below Pro Bowl levels. A dozen NFL receivers topped 100 or more catches last season.

Pickens honed his game in the offseason, with workouts in California, Florida and in a remote spot of Utah.

Maybe he worked on the mental aspect of his game as well. The Steelers offense struggled for long stretches last season. Pickens sometimes let his emotions overwhelm him. It got him in coach Mike Tomlin’s doghouse by late December. But he posted his two best games of the season late in the year, with four catches for 195 yards against the Bengals and 131 on seven receptions against the Seahawks.

Pickens complained about not getting enough balls thrown his way. Surely, a quarterback like Wilson knows to get him the ball.

And he says he hasn’t shown all that he’s capable of on the field.

“I’d probably say 80%,” Pickens told reporters. “I can only go off of how the quarterback plays. I can thrive more. … The yardage showed it. I should have made the Pro Bowl.”