Rookie receiver George Pickens routinely put his skill set on display with the Steelers, basically from the first day of training camp at Saint Vincent College.
It was on display through the regular season, too, when he finished fourth among rookie receivers in receptions (52) and yards (801), but led them all in average yards per catch (15.4) and 20-yard receptions (17). That despite being targeted 63 fewer times than the league's rookie leader in receptions and yards, Garrett Wilson of the New York Jets.
It was certainly out there for everyone to see on Sunday, as well, when Pickens produced the longest touchdown of the season — a 31-yard pass from Kenny Pickett — and also had catches of 24 and 17 yards.
But what everyone didn't see, and what Pickens really wanted to show his teammates this season, was the reports of him being immature and a character risk coming out of Georgia just weren't true.
"I really think I showed everybody that took where I got drafted and the stigma they had on me before I even got in league, I kind of showed everybody, 'Man, this guy is different,'" Pickens said. "I'm not the guy they said I was."
Pickens is definitely different, unlike any other receiver the Steelers have had in a long time. His length, speed and big-play ability is a combination of Mike Wallace, Plaxico Burress and Martavis Bryant with the toe-tap ability of Antonio Brown. His penchant for winning 50-50 balls along the sideline might be as good as any receiver in the league.
But Pickens wasn't talking about that. He was talking about the way he was characterized entering the draft, indicating some negative reports were part of the reason he slipped to the second round. Most of those centered around two separate instances his freshman season at Georgia, one of which was being ejected for throwing punches at a Georgia Tech player. He was having more red flags waved in his direction than a Georgia pep rally.
"Before I came in the league, in the draft, there was a lot of talk about, 'Is he going to have good character? Is he going to have this and that?'" Pickens said. "But the guys on this team really embraced me. And that kind of showed.
"I feel like I showed the country, and the world, I'm not that guy. I'm a team player trying to fight to the playoffs."
Pickens and the Steelers fell short of that goal, missing the postseason for the first time in three years after winning six of their final seven games to finish 9-8.
Coach Mike Tomlin said the Steelers have not seen any evidence that would lend credence to some of the negative pre-draft reports about his rookie receiver. And he never wastes any time jumping to his defense.
"I sometimes get resistant when I get asked about his maturity and character-related things because often times he got mischaracterized pre-draft," Tomlin said Monday at his final weekly news conference of the season. "And so that's why I get combative at times and defensive when it comes to him.
"He's a quality young man, he is. He's professional. He's been really consistent in his work. He loves football, he likes to work. We haven't seen a lot of things that we hear about the rumors regarding him. That's why we defend him."
Tomlin also said it's important to defend his young players because the negative publicity could inhibit their development, though he hasn't seen any of that with Pickens.
However, Pickens did show some of his youthful immaturity in the Dec. 4 game in Atlanta when he came to the sidelines after a failed third-down chance and screamed, "Throw me the (expletive) ball."
"That's business, unfortunately, particularly at this level," Tomlin said. "Sometimes. particularly when they're young, they don't do a good job managing it and it could affect their growth and development. And when you're in my profession, you better fight to defend that, and that's why I do. Thankfully, he's got thick skin and he's a tough-minded kid. It had very little bearing on his day-to-day and the spirit in which he played."
