Pickett-to-Pickens bond for Steelers continuing to grow as rookie QB, WR return to Indianapolis

They played different positions and excelled in separate Power 5 conferences, but when the NFL’s top prospects converged on Indianapolis in late February, quarterback Kenny Pickett and wide receiver George Pickens formed a connection.

One that continues nine months later with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The lanky wide receiver from Georgia and the Heisman Trophy finalist from Pitt hit if off immediately, Pickens relayed to reporters this week.

“He was a real laid-back, cool guy,” Pickens said. “Kenny is more strictly business, but he also was laid back. He takes it seriously. He wants to be great. That’s really the biggest thing. He wants to be great.”

That meshed with Pickens, who was determined not to let an ACL injury that cost him most of his final college season detract from his goal of making an impact in the NFL.

Little did either know that two months after sharing space at Lucas Oil Stadium, they would be teammates.

“When we linked up, it was like old friends again,” Pickens said. “We’ve always been cool. Now we’re trying to sustain it.”

The next chance will come via a return to the site of the combine on Monday night when the Steelers face the Indianapolis Colts. Pickett will make his seventh start at quarterback, and Pickens will start for the fourth game in row and seventh time overall at wide receiver.

While No. 1 wide receiver Diontae Johnson continues to search for on-field chemistry with Pickett, Pickens gradually has seen his relationship grow with his quarterback. Of Pickett’s three touchdown passes this season, two have ended up in the arms of Pickens, including a 24-yard score last weekend against Cincinnati.

Johnson, meantime, is searching for his first touchdown catch of the season — from Pickett or predecessor Mitch Trubisky.

Pickens attributes some of his success with Pickett to the amount of time the first-round and second-round draft picks have spent together as Steelers teammates, beginning with the team’s rookie orientation and mini-camp in May.

For his part, Pickett learned quickly that if he threw a pass in the general direction of Pickens, the 6-foot-3 wide receiver likely would find a way to come down with the ball — no matter how many defenders were draped over him.

“He’s the best athlete probably that I’ve played with,” Pickett said. “Just the freak things that he does, the catches he makes that are so nonchalant to him. I kind of look around like, ‘I’ve never seen that before in my life.’

“He’s a unique guy that can do a lot of great things. We’ve just got to continue to get him the football.”

Pickens’ role in the Steelers offense increased after a 35-13 loss at Philadelphia when he was targeted three times but had no catches for the first time in his young career despite playing 86% of the offensive snaps.

A few days later, the Steelers traded Chase Claypool to the Chicago Bears, a move that left Pickens, the team’s second-round draft pick, as the No. 2 receiver.

Although Pickens was targeted just four times when the Steelers returned from their bye to face New Orleans, he had three catches for 32 yards, rushed for a 1-yard touchdown and had a 23-yard burst on an end around.

Against the Bengals, Pickens had four catches on six targets for 83 yards that included his 24-yard touchdown catch that tied the score 17-17 late in the first half.

“George is coming on,” offensive coordinator Matt Canada said. “It’s matter of finding that togetherness with those guys and the ball going to the right spot at the right time.”

Pickens hasn’t noticed a change in how he has been deployed or how defenses have tried covering him in the two games the Steelers have played without Claypool.

“I’m doing the same routes, making the same plays,” he said. “For me, it’s not really been different. I’ve been going through the same routine every day. It’s kind of what I do.”

With seven games remaining, Pickens has 33 receptions for 453 yards. His receptions are tied for sixth-most by a player after his first 10 games with the Steelers. His yards rank eighth among Steelers rookies at this juncture of the season.

Among all NFL rookies, Pickens has the third-most receiving yards, trailing New Orleans’ Chris Olave (760) and the New York Jets’ Garrett Wilson (533). His 53 targets rank fourth.

Coach Mike Tomlin said Pickens’ growth since the season opener has been evident “in all areas.”

“Nuances of the game, situational play, fundamentals, things specific to the position — releases, route running, hand selection,” Tomlin said. “There’s a lot of meat on that bone. He’s a very talented guy, and he’s making plays along the way, but it’s reasonable to expect his growth and maturation to continue and really to continue at an accelerated rate as he logs snaps and gains experience.”

And Pickens will have Pickett throwing him passes for the foreseeable future to help build a bond that began in Indianapolis.

“As far as learning and getting into a groove, at first we all were new so every day was going to be new,” Pickens said. “I am brand new to the system, same thing with him. It’s just growing as we go through the season. Stuff is going to start to click. The opportunities are going to start to rise.”