Steelers’ George Pickens Gets Exciting Comparison Now That He Is Showing More Maturity

the Pittsburgh Steelers have more talent on their roster for the 2024 season than they have had in recent years. The majority of that impressive talent is on the defensive side of the ball, but the offensive side has some gems as well. An obvious weapon would be wide receiver George Pickenswho continues to improve as he embarks on his third season in the NFL. Pickens has continued to excite throughout his career with the Steelers, but now is the time for him to really break out as he has the best quarterback play of his professional career.

Pickens has put up good numbers through his first two seasons with offenses that have ranked near the bottom of the league in every major statistical category. Now, he has a proven offensive coordinator in arthur smith to go with an upgrade at the quarterback position Justin Fields. Pickens has always had a ton of raw talent, but he has seemed to refine his skills now that he is the number one receiver for the first time in his career.

Something that has always plagued Pickens is his maturity. He had some rough moments during his first two seasons in Pittsburgh, but has seemed to turn a corner now in his third year. His former teammate, patrick petersonwent on 93.7 The Fan on Friday and was asked if he thinks Pickens has shown some maturity during the 2024 season. This question was posed after Chris Adamski pointed out that Pickens doesn’t have earth-shattering stats in 2024, but he hasn’t made a big deal about it.

“Yeah, you can definitely tell that he’s making those strides towards being a great teammate, a mature player throughout this season. But you know, George is going to get his time, you know just like last year. I know he was going through “some quarterback situations, but towards the middle and the end of the season, that’s when he was really able to flourish.”

This is a big step forward for the young receiver. He has been productive in 2024, but he hasn’t had one of his big games that fans are accustomed to. Through three contests, he has hauled in 13 passes for 171 yards, and he is still awaiting his first touchdown of the season. Peterson clearly thinks the big stats will come for the receiver, especially as Smith continues to open up the playbook.

Steelers’ George Pickens Gets Compared To Legendary Wide Receiver Larry Fitzgerald

Before coming to Pittsburgh, Peterson spent most of his career with the Arizona Cardinals where he was teammates with Larry Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald is considered one of the best receivers in NFL history, as he was named an All-Pro three times and a Pro Bowler 11 times.

Peterson was asked during his radio appearance whether or not Pickens has the potential to reach the same level as his former teammate.

“Yes. I won’t say that’s blasphemous right now. But he has the potential because George is not the fastest, Larry wasn’t the fastest. But George has great hands, Larry had great hands. It don’t matter where the ball is, he’s going to come down with it and those comparisons right there, you know, that’s all you can ask for if you want to be compared to the great Larry Fitzgerald. He has everything, all the tools that Larry had for sure, and some. Now it’s just going to be upon him to go out there and continue to work on his craft.”

Peterson had to defend both Fitzgerald and Pickens during practices when he was with both teams, so there is no one better to hear this comparison from. Peterson did make a point to note that quarterback play is important. Pickens needs to have a quarterback that can consistently play all 17 games and be effective, and it looks like Pittsburgh might have that in Fields.