George Pickens Mistake Starting to Haunt Steelers

Pittsburgh Messed Up?

During an appearance on the "Up & Adams Show," Batch shared his belief that the Steelers never should've parted ways with Pickens and that he wasn't properly set up for success with the team during his first few years in the league.

“I don’t think they should have,” Batch said. “And the reason why is because, I agree, you paired George Pickens up with arguably the worst quarterback in the history of the NFL. And I’m not throwing shade. The numbers are what they are. So he lost more games in Pittsburgh than he ever lost in his career. And he had a bad rap, and he didn’t know how to lose.”

Pittsburgh's offense averaged just 200.6 passing yards in Pickens' lone full season playing under Matt Canada, who Batch was likely referring to, in 2022 as a rookie. Regardless, he still finished with 801 yards and four touchdowns.

Before Canada was fired leading into Week 12 of the 2023 campaign, Pickens posted 604 yards over 10 games. Afterwards, he closed out the year with 536 yards across seven contests.

In his final season as a Steelers with Arthur Smith at the helm as offensive coordinator, Pickens logged 900 yards and three scores on 59 catches.

Now that he's in Dallas, though, he's on pace to shatter all of his previous career-highs while nearly outperforming Pittsburgh's own receiver room by himself.

“When you look at what George Pickens is doing as the number two receiver, he has 36 catches, 607 yards and six touchdowns,” Batch said. “But then when you look at the receiver group as a whole for the Steelers, they have 38 catches, 612 yards and seven touchdowns. So that lets you know you let a piece walk out that door.”

Where Do Steelers Go From Here?

The Steelers' decision to trade Pickens came after they landed DK Metcalf from the Seattle Seahawks and gave him a four-year extension worth $132 million to become their new No. 1 option at the position.

Perhaps the organization would've held onto him if he had performed at his current level, but a change of scenery may have been necessary for Pickens in order to truly break out.

Pittsburgh's offense has improved with Aaron Rodgers at quarterback this season, averaging the 12th-most points per game at 25.0, but the team could certainly use another receiver alongside Metcalf and Calvin Austin III.

Though the presence of tight ends Jonnu Smith, Pat Freiermuth and Darnell Washington does mask that need to an extent, the Steelers still may not be able to reach their ceiling this season without additional help at the position.