In reviewing the snap counts from the Pittsburgh Steelers 37-15 win over the New York Jets, several things stood out to me. But nothing was more shocking to me than the snap count for wide receiver George Pickens.
Just a week after head coach Mike Tomlin reiterated the point that Pickens’ reduced workload was merely snap management and done in an attempt to help maximize his production when he was on the field. No one believed that then and definitely no one believes it now.
Aside from the starting offensive line and quarterback Russell Wilson, who all played 100 percent of the snaps, Pickens had the highest snap count of any Steelers player on offense. Pickens was out there for 79 percent of the offensive snaps which worked out to 54 of 68 snaps.
Pickens finished the game with five catches for 111 yards and his first receiving touchdown of the season. Pickens didn’t seem like he needed any rest last week and played hard the entire game.
We are very happy to see Pickens on the field more but there’s no doubt Tomlin was holding him back when Justin Fields was at quarterback to keep his ego in line and avoid any on-field issues if he wasn’t getting the football.
