Week 5 turned up a memorable game for Steelers WR George Pickens. He snagged 6 of 10 targets for 130 yards, plus a game-winning deep-ball score. Call it a fortunate outcome for fantasy owners, as Kenny Pickett continued to struggle while playing through a knee injury. Pittsburgh failed to find the end zone before Pickens’ score late in the 4th. Pickens will remain a boom/bust fantasy option following a Week 6 bye. Diontae Johnson (IR, hamstring) should return for that one.
Steelers QB Kenny Pickett "will miss some time" with his knee injury, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. How much time will depend on the results of Monday's MRI. The Steelers don't believe Pickett's ACL is damaged, but there's concern about the MCL and meniscus, Rapoport says. "The belief is that this is not a season-ending situation." We should have a more concrete timeline for Pickett's return by the end of Monday. QB Mitchell Trubisky will step in as Pittsburgh's starter for however long Pickett is out. Trubisky completed 65.0% of his passes at 7.0 yards per attempt across four starts and seven total appearances for the Steelers last year.
Steelers WR George Pickens mustered only 3 grabs for 25 yards on 7 targets. The Steelers lost Kenny Pickett (knee) to injury in the 3rd quarter, but this offense struggled to get anything going regardless of QB. Pickens went 0 for 2 on targets from backup Mitch Trubisky. Even if Pickett gets cleared for Week 5, Pickens will remain a shaky fantasy option vs. Baltimore. Note that Diontae Johnson (hamstring) will remain out.
Steelers WR George Pickens led the team in receiving with 75 yards and 4 catches in Week 3’s win vs. the Raiders. Second-year wideout Calvin Austin III had a nice performance as well, hauling in 2 of 6 targets with a 72-yard TD. Fantasy managers also saw a bounce back from TE Pat Freiermuth in the contest. He totaled 3 catches for 41 yards and a score on Sunday night. This is the best that the Steelers’ passing offense has looked all season. Still, we’re not going to get overly excited about this one, given the poor state of the offense. We’ll see if this unit can build upon their achievements in Week 4 vs. the Texans.
Steelers WR George Pickens stepped up without teammate Diontae Johnson (hamstring) in the lineup, tallying 4 catches for 127 yards and a TD on a team-leading 10 targets vs. the Browns. No other Steelers’ wideout registered more than a pair of receptions. Given the poor QB play that Kenny Pickett has brought to the table to open 2023, relying on receiving production from anyone on this roster is a challenge. Even so, Pickens displayed his big-play ability with a 71-yard TD tonight and will be worth the gamble again in Week 3 vs. the Raiders.
Steelers WR Diontae Johnson (hamstring) has been ruled out for Monday night's game vs. the Browns. Insider Gerry Dulac reported earlier this week that Johnson is expected to miss four weeks, although he hasn't been placed on IR. That means the Steelers think Johnson has a chance to be back before four weeks. WR George Pickens was added to the injury report on Saturday with a hamstring and limited in practice. But he has no game designation, so he's expected to play vs. Cleveland. Pickens, Allen Robinson, and Calvin Austin will be Pittsburgh's top three WRs with Johnson out.
Steelers insider Gerry Dulac hears that WR Diontae Johnson is expected to miss four weeks with his hamstring injury. If that's the case, we could see Johnson land on IR on Saturday. He's still worth keeping stashed on fantasy benches. Johnson's absence opens up opportunity for WRs George Pickens, Allen Robinson, and Calvin Austin, plus TE Pat Freiermuth.
Steelers WR Diontae Johnson is expected to miss “a few weeks” with a hamstring injury, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Allen Robinson led the Steelers in targets and yards on Sunday. But for now, George Pickens and Pat Freiermuth remain the only pass catchers worth using in fantasy lineups. Just note: Week 2 turns up a tough test vs. a Browns defense that just dominated the Bengals.
The Athletic's Mark Kaboly lists WR George Pickens as one of the winners of Steelers training camp. "That proverbial next step by a second-year receiver appears to be in progress," Kaboly writes. "He’s no longer just a deep-ball or highlight-catch guy like we saw last camp and last season. He has transformed into a more polished receiver with an expanded route tree, and that will do nothing but help [QB Kenny] Pickett and this offense." Pickens made plenty of highlight-reel contested catches as a rookie last season. But the knock on him was that he didn't create much separation, leading to a relatively low target-per-route rate. It sounds like Pickens is on track to earn more volume this season, which would be a big boost to his fantasy production.
On Monday, the Athletic's Mike DeFabo reported that Steelers WR George Pickens is making solid impressions at camp. DeFabo writes that while Pickens entered camp with a lot of buzz, he's "exceeding those expectations" between "highlight-reel grabs" and his spirited competitiveness in practice. Another interesting note in this report is that veteran WR Allen Robinson has "has only strengthened his case" to seize the starting slot role in the Steelers' offense through his performance in the "Seven Shots" red zone drill the Steelers frequently run from the two-yard line. Pickens will need to improve upon ranking 38th in drop rate (7.1%), 49th in yards after catch (110), and 40th in PFF receiving grade among 80 WRs who recorded 50+ targets last season. To his credit, Pickens ranked first in contest catch rate (67.9%) of that group in 2022. Still, greater evolution in his route tree is something both DeFabo and the Draft Sharks staff note as something to watch out for before we get too excited about him. Pickens presently sits as a high-end WR4 in our current WR rankings.
The Steelers morphed into a run-heavy offense over the second half of last season, ranking sixth in rush rate. It sounds like the plan is to continue in that direction this year. “I think our identity was pretty clear the last nine games (of 2022),” OC Matt Canada said. “We ran the ball well, we were physical. You see who we drafted, who we acquired (this offseason). I don’t think there is any question about what our identity is going to be. We want to run the ball, we want to be physical, and we want to be a good team that can throw the football down the field. I think our identity is well known, and we’ll stay where we’re at.” The Steelers spent the 14th overall pick of this spring's draft on OT Broderick Jones and signed free-agent G Isaac Seumalo to bolster the offensive line. They return RBs Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren, who will presumably be busy this year. Both guys are fine picks at ADP. The run-heavy plan is worrisome for QB Kenny Pickett, WRs Diontae Johnson and George Pickens, and TE Pat Freiermuth.
The Rams are finalizing a trade to send WR Allen Robinson to the Steelers, pending Robinson passing a physical. No word yet on the compensation, but the Rams probably aren't getting much. Robinson is set to count $18 million against the 2023 salary cap and has been one of the least efficient WRs in the NFL over the past two seasons. He ranked 86th out of 101 qualifying WRs in yards per route run in 2021 and 90th out of 96 last year. Robinson figures to slide in as Pittsburgh's #3 WR behind Diontae Johnson and George Pickens. He's not an exciting fantasy pick. The Rams, meanwhile, are left with Cooper Kupp, Van Jefferson, Tutu Atwell, and Ben Skowronek atop the WR depth chart. We'll see if they add to the position.
Update: Per ESPN's Adam Schefter, the Steelers are getting Robinson and the 251st overall pick of this year's draft in exchange for the 234th overall pick. The Rams are also paying $10.25 million of Robinson’s salary. The Steelers will pay the remaining $5 million. If you needed confirmation that Robinson's tank is empty, there you go.
Steelers TE Pat Freiermuth tallied 7 catches for 66 yards among 8 targets in Saturday night's win over the Raiders. The numbers marked a big rebound from his target-less Week 15 at Carolina. It was Freiermuth's most targets and receptions since Week 11. The TE trailed only RB Najee Harris in targets for the game. WR Diontae Johnson added 5-64 receiving on 7 looks. WR George Pickens caught all 5 of his targets for 57 yards and the go-ahead TD. Pittsburgh gets a Week 17 rematch with Baltimore, which has played the run much tougher than the pass for most of the season.
Steelers QB Kenny Pickett (concussion) will start this weekend's game vs. the Raiders, HC Mike Tomlin said Tuesday. It sounds like Pickett still has 1 more step to pass protocol, so we'll keep an eye on his practice participation this week. Vegas ranks 30th in adjusted fantasy points allowed to QBs, but Pickett hasn't shown enough this season to be more than a mid-range QB2 for Week 16.
Steelers WR Diontae Johnson caught all 10 of his targets for 98 yards in Sunday's win over the Panthers. He drew 45.5% of QB Mitchell Trubisky's pass attempts, tallying 58.8% of the team's receptions and 54.7% of the yards. He was the only Steeler to catch more than 2 passes. WR George Pickens checked in next with 2 catches for 53 yards among 5 targets. WR Steven Sims was the only other Pittsburgh player to see more than 1 target. We'll see whether QB Kenny Pickett can make it back for Week 16.
Steelers WR Diontae Johnson remained allergic to the end zone in Sunday's loss to the Ravens. He did lead the team in targets (8), receptions (6) and receiving yards (82). TE Pat Freiermuth followed with 6 targets, catching 3 for 33 yards and a TD. WR George Pickens drew just 3 looks -- tied with 2 others for 4th -- but caught all 3 for 78 yards. Pittsburgh heads to Carolina in Week 15, likely without QB Kenny Pickett (concussion).
Steelers WR Diontae Johnson racked up 11 targets among 28 Kenny Pickett pass attempts in Sunday's win over the Falcons. That marked a 39.3% target share, in a game that saw no other Steeler top 5 looks. TE Pat Freiermuth finished 2nd, catching 3 of 5 targets for 76 yards. RB Jaylen Warren was the only other Pittsburgh player to catch more than 1 pass. WRs George Pickens and Steven Sims matched Warren at 2 targets. Pickens caught just 1 ball for 2 yards. Next for Pittsburgh comes the season's 1st matchup with the Ravens, who have been playing the run tougher than the pass.
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