George Pickens had quite the rookie year, shining with many big-time plays. His tremendous catch-in-traffic and contested catch ability made him a dependable target for Kenny Pickett. Pickett and Pickens, both entering year two, are looking to renew that connection and be a dynamic duo on offense. The pair of Steelers have worked hard going into their sophomore seasons and are looking to be better and more explosive. Pickens is a tremendous, well-rounded receiver who struggled at times for fantasy football last year. He was the WR2 for Pittsburgh most of the year, so his production certainly wasn’t top-notch. With the team’s expected growth on offense, could Pickens be due for a big year in 2023?
George Pickens 2023 Fantasy Football Profile
Recap of Pickens’ Rookie Season in 2022
George Pickens was a steal for the Steelers in the 2022 draft as a late second-round pick. He wowed the coaches in training camp and started as WR3 on the depth chart but quickly assumed a higher role. By the end of the season, he and Diontae Johnson were pretty much 1A and 1B on the depth chart with nothing much other than touchdowns separating them. Pickens caught 52 passes for 801 yards in his rookie year and had five total touchdowns. He averaged 15.4 yards a catch which is insane and simply shows his and Pickett’s deep-ball connection. There were many frustrating games for Pickens, as he scored less than ten fantasy points in 10 of 17 games. This is likely due to the negative impact of having a rookie quarterback, which severely limits upside.
Overall, he finished as the WR40 with an average of 9.8 points per game. Things should get better for him but only time will tell how Pickens, and the Steelers’ offense as a whole, perform in 2023.
Prediction For Pickens’ 2023 Season
George Pickens is technically due for a big year in 2023 but things just aren’t aligned for that. The Steelers have Pickens, Pro-Bowlers Diontae Johnson and Allen Robinson, and rookie sleeper Calvin Austin as their main receivers. Not to mention they also have Najee Harris and Pat Freiermuth too. Lots of mouths to feed are good for an offense as a whole but not for fantasy football. With this, it’s likely that Pickens does not come close to achieving the volume and production that guys like Justin Jefferson might. Pickens should finish with more catches (predicted in the 55-65 range) and a similar amount of yards (between 800 and 1000). The biggest thing for Pickens will ultimately be how successful the passing offense of Kenny Pickett and Matt Canada is.
Fantasy Information (ADP, Rankings, etc…) For George Pickens
Pickens finished as the WR40 in 2022 and starts the 2023 rankings just three spots ahead, at WR37. He is behind fellow Steeler Diontae Johnson in the overall rankings by nearly 20 spots, slated at an ADP of 77th overall. In most fantasy leagues, this puts him around a 7th-9th round pick. Based on stat predictions, Pickens comes out as an 11 point-per-game PPR projection. He and the rest of the Steelers’ offensive weapons are big fantasy question marks entering the season. Pickens is a vital piece to have stashed on your bench but doesn’t project to be a starter in fantasy lineups, at least not right away.
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