Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver George Pickens has been the subject of controversy lately after he blatantly failed to perform his blocking duties when his team ran the football in its Sunday loss to the Indianapolis Colts.
Pickens afterward claimed he was trying to avoid sustaining the type of injury that Tank Dell, the excellent rookie wideout for the Houston Texans, recently suffered.
Teammate Jaylen Warren seemed to pour some fuel on the fire when he said he would’ve blocked had he been in the same situation, per ProFootballTalk.
Jaylen Warren: I would have blocked for George Pickens. https://t.co/Oh26PJKpxb
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) December 20, 2023
Pickens, who is in his second season out of the University of Georgia, is a promising young player who has 814 receiving yards and three touchdowns so far this year.
However, if he is to become a truly Pro Bowl-caliber receiver, he will need to start to consistently fulfill his blocking duties and sacrifice his body for the good of his team.
Warren seemed to imply that perhaps that’s not what Pickens was looking to do this past weekend.
“I see where he’s coming from,” Warren said, via Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “It is what it is. At the end of the day, he was doing what he thought was best for him.”
The Steelers have been one of the NFL’s worst offensive teams in 2023, as they rank 28th in points and passing yards, 29th in first downs, and 31st in passing touchdowns.
Second-year quarterback Kenny Pickett clearly isn’t worthy of being the heir apparent to the retired Ben Roethlisberger, and wideout Diontae Johnson has been a disappointment, at least relative to his 2021 Pro Bowl campaign.
With games against the Cincinnati Bengals, Seattle Seahawks, and Baltimore Ravens coming up, Pittsburgh will really have to work in order to make the playoffs.
NEXT:
Mike Tomlin Denies George Pickens’ Claim About Lack Of Effort
