New Steelers receivers coach thinks greatness is 'right there' for George Pickens

As he prepares to enter his third NFL season, George Pickens is the unquestioned leading wide receiver on the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Strictly based on numbers, he is assuredly the most prolific. He is the only one on the roster with a 1,000-yard season, and he led the NFL last season with 18.1 yards per reception.

What remains to be determined is whether Pickens is a bona fide No. 1 receiver, the type of pass catcher who is among the league’s elite. That he is worthy of being included in a discussion with Justin Jefferson, Tyreek Hill and CeeDee Lamb, to name a few of the NFL’s best receivers.

“He can be,” new wide receivers coach Zach Azzanni said during minicamp earlier this month. “It’s right there for him. He’s got to pick it up, take the cheese and do the things we ask him to do. He can do anything he wants. He’s that talented.”

Pickens is coming off a season with the Steelers in which he set career highs with 63 catches, 1,140 yards and five touchdowns — all the while playing in an offense that ranked in the bottom quartile of the league in total yards and points.

Whereas the Steelers overhauled the quarterback room in the offseason — replacing Kenny Pickett with Russell Wilson and adding Justin Fields as competition — the organization also traded a former 1,000-yard receiver, Diontae Johnson, to Carolina.

That trade left Pickens without his running mate the past two seasons, and the Steelers are attempting to replace Johnson with a group of veterans that includes Van Jefferson, Quez Watkins, Marquez Callaway and Scotty Miller. Holdover Calvin Austin and rookie Roman Wilson also are options.

The lack of a true second fiddle could lead to more double teams for Pickens.

“I know a lot gets made of (who is) number one, two or three,” Azzanni said. “In this day and age, we move everyone around and guys get balls depending on matchups. That number is overrated to me. Yes, we’re trying to find the best three or four we can put out there, for sure. … We’re growing. We’re a work in progress.”

Still, even though Azzanni has been on the job only for a few months, he’s seen enough to know that he has a special talent in Pickens, who turned 23 in March and is only three months older than Wilson, this year’s third-round selection.

“We’ve got a long ways to go with everything, but little by little … there are little things I can see,” Azzanni said about Pickens. “Man, there is so much in there, untapped potential. If we can get him a little bit better, it can be monumental.”

The Steelers would like to see growth from Pickens off the field as well.

Pickens showed a temperamental side — and lack of maturity — at times last year that seemed to stunt his progress. He used social media to write “Free me” after a game against Tennessee, and then he was called out by former Steelers players when he didn’t follow through on a block near the goal line against Indianapolis.

Now, the Steelers are asking Pickens to display more leadership at a position that has undergone so much turnover since the end of last year.

“I do it by my play,” Pickens said of his leadership traits. “Vocally, I wouldn’t say it because I don’t really say much.”

Pickens, though, said he is driven to be viewed among the NFL’s premier receivers.

“Yeah, every year I kind of say I want to be the greatest,” he said. “All I can do is keep working.”

Azzanni has experience working with talented young receivers. He coached Garrett Wilson last year in his lone season with the New York Jets. Previously, he coached another 1,000-yard receiver in Courtland Sutton when Azzanni spent five seasons with Denver.

Azzanni has brought a no-nonsense, in-your-face coaching style to the Steelers staff that contrasts the methods used by predecessor Frisman Jackson, who wasn’t retained after two seasons with the organization.

Pickens said Azzanni brings energy to the position room, and Azzanni doesn’t apologize for his approach.

“I don’t know what he was used to. I don’t really care,” Azzanni said. “I just know how I do it. He’s been great so far. I can tell guys are listening when they pick it up, and I see them trying to do it. It might not be good yet, but I can see them trying.

“That’s all I ask. George has been great.”

Another departure from last season is new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith has designed more plays that have Pickens playing in the slot.

Pickens played 16.5% of his offensive snaps last year in the slot, a slight uptick from his rookie season when he played there 15.4% of the time.

“I did it at Georgia, but this is more than I have done it in the league,” Pickens said.

Pickens likes the variety that playing in the slot provides. That and a chance to match up against safeties and linebackers.

“It’s not putting me on one side of the field so someone can come over and help (the cornerback),” Pickens said. “It puts me in the mix.”

If he can avoid thunderous collisions across the middle, Pickens thinks playing in the slot can work to his advantage because of his 4.47 speed.

“It’s being smart,” he said when asked about the challenge of being covered by linebackers. “They are like crash dummies, so it’s being smarter than them — catching the ball, getting down when you’re supposed to; catching the ball, scoring touchdowns when you are supposed to. … If you have good speed and can split defenders, it can be easy to score.”

Such big plays were rarely seen from the Steelers last season. They had the sixth-fewest pass plays that covered at least 20 yards. By getting Pickens more involved over the middle while still using him on deep routes, the belief is he can create more splash while emerging as one of the NFL’s best.

“We know what’s out there for him,” Azzanni said, “if he wants it.”