Last season, Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver George Pickens had a breakout campaign in Year Two. He finished with career highs in receptions with 63 and receiving yards with 1,140. Pickens also finished with five receiving touchdowns.
These numbers are made even more remarkable when you consider the hodgepodge of quarterbacks Pickens had throwing him the football. This season, Pickens gets a future Hall of Famer in Russell Wilson and Pickens is the undeniable No.1 target.
This gets Wilson and Pickens on the list of the best new quarterback/wide receiver tandems in the NFL according to CBS Sports. Here’s what CBS Sports said about the new tandem in Pittsburgh.
Pickens led the league in yards per reception (18.1) last year, and had 12 catches on balls thrown 20+ air yards outside the numbers, which ranked No. 2 behind Tyreek Hill. Wilson was a nice deep-ball thrower during his time in Seattle, but he’s coming off a season in which he averaged his worst yards per attempt ever (6.9). Plus, he has a motivated, more athletic Justin Fields breathing down his neck.
Wilson is going to lean heavily on the run game orchestrated by new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith and then pick his spots with Pickens. This could mean a dip in receptions for Pickens but more meaningful plays.
