George Pickens was none at all interested in addressing this:
Pickens drew just two targets from Kenny Pickett in Sunday's 19-16 victory at Atlanta. In this above GIF, lip-readers might suggest Pickens saying, "Throw me the ball, man! Throw me the f---ing ball!" in the fourth quarter, shortly before a Diontae Johnson catch and fumble was reversed to an incomplete pass.
During Wednesday's pre-practice open locker room session at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex, Pickens did not seem all too interested in addressing the elephant in the room, aside from himself getting in front of it by making the rare opening statement in front of the media scrum.
"Alright, I ain't going to lie, before we start this, I ain't finna be just saying stuff for y'all to just paint a -- know what I mean -- make a statement bigger than what it is, or make something bigger than what it is. You can start (asking questions)," Pickens said, with a neck gaiter covering his bottom lip.
Ever since Pickett took over as the Steelers' starting quarterback in Week 5 at Buffalo, Pickens has not received more than eight targets in a game, and he has not registered a 100-yard game. He has caught just two touchdowns, one at Miami and one against Cincinnati. His best game with Pickett as the starting quarterback was three weeks ago against Cincinnati, where he caught four of six targets for 83 yards and a touchdown.
In eight games with Pickett as the starter, Pickens has 26 receptions (on 41 targets, or just about five per game) for 345 yards (43.1 per game) with two touchdowns.
So, when he was caught on camera yelling about his lack of targets, the frustration can definitely be understood. But, as Pickens reiterated:
"That happens with a lot of receivers that I could name in the past," Pickens said. "Literally video clips. It's only what you paint it out to be."
What is Pickens painting it out to be? He answered:
"It's not me. It's y'all."
The targets will surely come for Pickens, who the Steelers selected in the second round of the 2022 NFL Draft. The rapport with Pickett will continue to build, and the match could be one made in heaven by the time things are said and done. This bump in the road is partially explicable and relatable to the Steelers' struggles on offense throughout the season, but there is no question that Pickens touching the ball is only good for the Steelers offense and for the longterm growth of it.
Pickens said he stays in touch with Matt Canada over his role in the offense, but the conversations around that, in particular, are not centric towards his role specifically.
"I talk to (the coaches) all the time, not regarding getting the ball more, (but) winning," Pickens said. "Winning as a team, not really involve getting the ball more."
On Tuesday, Mike Tomlin addressed Pickens' sideline tirade in his news conference. He made a note to praise Pickens' competitive spirit, but also acknowledged there was perhaps a more mature way to go about it.
"I'd rather say 'woah' than 'sick ‘em.'" Tomlin said on Tuesday. "I want a guy that wants to be a significant part of what it is that we do. Now the appropriate and professional and mature way to express that, we're growing and working on, and we will continue. But that spirit, that competitive spirit, the guy that wants the ball, I want that guy. I would imagine that T.J. (Watt) wants to lay the quarterback down more. We’ve got competitors. This is professional football. These guys know that they have to deliver. So, for a guy that wants to do that, I'm not going to make that a negative, no matter how silly I think the commentary is or people talking about him expressing frustrations and stuff and trying to make it a negative storyline. I laugh at that. Again, that's one of the reasons why we're continually progressing because we're capable of tuning that BS out."
Did Pickens hear what his coach had to say?
Well, he just shook his head "no."
Pickens is right about this: He is not the first, nor will he be the last receiver to express frustration over a lack of targets. These things happen every year, on every team, and at every level. It just so happens that Pickens was caught on camera. (And later was seen being consoled by Cam Heyward over the ordeal.)
"I feel like every player's got that -- it's just what you record," Pickens said. "That's why I said at the beginning of this, you know, about trying to make something that's not. Every player, literally every receiver in the past before, you've got (Terrell Owens), you've got -- I can name so many names -- it's just what you want to make it out to be."