Steelers: Why George Pickens' recent antics are entirely overblown
The Steelers may be coming off a big win on Thursday night, but not everyone was happy. Visibly frustrated during the game, and going on a modern tirade after, George Pickens was far from happy with his involvement against the Titans. And that may seem concerning, but here's why it's not: Trouble in Paradise? Let's […]
The Steelers may be coming off a big win on Thursday night, but not everyone was happy.
Visibly frustrated during the game, and going on a modern tirade after, George Pickens was far from happy with his involvement against the Titans.
And that may seem concerning, but here's why it's not:
Trouble in Paradise?
Let's go through the long and winding road of events that led Steelers second year WR and budding superstar George Pickens to delete all of the Steelers pictures off his Instagram and unfollow teammate and fellow WR Diontae Johnson.
Problems became visible after the above play, but the frustration built up over the course of the game.
After a couple of stellar performances against the Ravens and Rams, Pickens has a combined three receptions for 21 yards over the last two weeks, including two catches for -1 yards against the Titans.
But Pickens should have had a TD and has no one blame to but himself:
This is a catch that Pickens makes in his sleep, yet he didn't drag his foot and thus the TD was overturned. Pair that with Pickett missing Pickens more than a few times, and you can see why Pickens was frustrated.
But what he did after the game was particularly concerning among fans and media alike:
Pickens would then go on to unfollow Dionate Johnson, Mike Tomlin, and the Pittsburgh Steelers, while deleting all of his Steelers pictures. Pickens wasn't following QB Kenny Pickett at the time, but it doesn't seem he was following him in the first place.
Now if you're uninitiated in social media cryptic messaging in modern times, those are the things you do when you clearly want nothing to do with someone.
But Pickens would go on to re-follow of the accounts he unfollowed, re-post his pictures, and say that his recent story posts and Instagram actions had nothing to do with football. (Not sure I believe that last part).
There was also a sentiment from Steelers Beat Reporter Mark Kaboly of The Athletic that came across as concerning:
But here's why none of this is a big deal.
The very next time Pickens catches more than a few balls, gets close to triple-digit receiving yards, or reaches the endzone, a'll of this goes out of the window.
Is his behavior immature? Sure. Is he acting like a "diva?" No Doubt.
But he's a 22-year-old freak athlete that can easily be a bonified top 5-7 WR in its league when given the appropriate amount of targets.
That's his main issue. He's not getting the ball and he wants to show what he's capable of.
Now, I'm not defending the actions, especially after a win.
The in-game gestures looked selfish and the postgame antics only add a distraction the team doesn't need.
But when you're as young, talented, and promising a talent as Pickens is, this is what comes with the territory. Don't believe me?
Just look at the actions and words of Terrell Owens, Chad Johnson, Odell Beckham Jr., Stefon Diggs, and plenty of the league's best wide receivers when they don't get the ball:
They get mad.
So yeah, I much rather see him congratulate DJ after his first TD since 2021, or re-post Steelers content after a win rather than pretend he was talking about something else while unfollowing anything and everyone related to the franchise.
But this is like the teenager who gets grounded by their parents. Sure they huss and fuss for a few hours or days, but in the end, they suck it up, apologize and go on about their lives loving their parents.
Just wait for the next Pickett-Pickens TD and you'll see what I mean.
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