Did George Pickens take a shot at Bengals WR Ja'Marr Chase?
Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver George Pickens has already ingrained himself into the chaotic nature of the AFC North. A second-round pick from last year's NFL Draft, Pickens has equal amounts of talent as he does intensity. Sometimes, there's too much of the latter. Pickens' rookie season was a productive one, but it doesn't compare to […]
Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver George Pickens has already ingrained himself into the chaotic nature of the AFC North. A second-round pick from last year's NFL Draft, Pickens has equal amounts of talent as he does intensity. Sometimes, there's too much of the latter.
Pickens' rookie season was a productive one, but it doesn't compare to how Ja'Marr Chase started his career a year prior, nor did it clear the bar Chase continued to set in his second year in 2022.
There's a reason why Chase a Pro Bowl receiver for the second year in a row, and Pickens fell short of the honor behind six receivers in total. But the Steelers pass catcher doesn't want to hear that.
In talking to Bo Marchionte of College2Pro.com, Pickens revealed one of his goals for the 2023 season is to make the Pro Bowl, claiming he got "snubbed" last year due to the fact that he wasn't impressed with the receivers who made it.
“Year two goals are Pro Bowl and I feel like last year I feel like I got snubbed," Pickens said. "Cause there wasn’t a lot of guys in there at the Pro Bowl that excited me. Then the Super Bowl. The two bowls. A lot of RAC, run after catch. Two bowls for sure.”
So, what receivers could Pickens possibly be talking about?
All nine receivers who earned Pro Bowl status last season as a receiver, not a return specialist, hauled in at least 1,000 receiving yards. Six of them caught eight touchdowns and 100 passes as well.
In comparison, Pickens finished with 801 yards, four touchdowns on 52 receptions. Respectable, but not quite on the level of those nine. In fact, not even a close in some regards.
Interestingly enough, the closest two Pro Bowl receivers to Pickens in terms of production last year were Chase and Terry McLaurin. Due to playing in just 12 regular season games, Chase racked up 1,046 yards and nine touchdowns on 87 receptions. McLaurin played a full 17-game slate and ended up with 1,191 yards and five touchdowns on 77 receptions.
Pickens can't possibly believe he was on par with the likes of Justin Jefferson, Tyreek Hill, and Davante Adams, who were all named First-Team All-Pro in addition to the Pro Bowl. Chase's lack of production in comparison to them was more due to his hip injury that forced him to miss four games, but there were also a brief time in the season when he wasn't producing at a dominant rate on a week-to-week basis.
Interestingly enough, Chase's best game of the year was arguably his first, and it was against Pickens' Steelers. Chase played a whopping 100 snaps and dropped 129 yards and a touchdown on Pittsburgh. That should've left a pretty good impression on Pickens, who made his NFL debut that same game.
Whomever Pickens was referring to, he's got a lot more to prove before he expects Pro Bowl votes to start coming his way.
