Whether it’s a highlight touchdown grab, a stiff-arm, or whatever this is, George Pickens is seemingly always in the headlines. Now, he may be a bonafide fantasy WR1 after taking a leap in recent weeks with Russell Wilson at quarterback.
How’s that for a headline?
Pickens’ play
Pickens is a superb on-field talent. The 6-foot-3 wideout reached 801 yards on 52 catches as a rookie in 2022 before breaking the 1,000-yard mark with 63 catches for 1,1140 yards and five touchdowns last season. He showed the talent to succeed, particularly as a field stretcher and contested-catch maestro, but never had consistent quarterback play to reach the next level.
Through his first nine games this season, Pickens has totaled 639 yards and two scores on 40 receptions. He’s pacing for a career year, but has truly been unlocked by the Steelers’ surprising starting quarterback change. Ever since veteran Russell Wilson took over for Justin Fields in Week 7, Pickens’ play has been elevated.
In his three games catching passes from Wilson, Pickens has totaled 21 catches for 276 yards and two TDs. That’s an average of seven receptions and 92 yards per contest, which would both be career-high marks for the third-year wideout. For comparison, Justin Jefferson currently ranks third among all receivers with 92.3 yards per game, with just Ja’Marr Chase and Nico Collins ahead of him.
Is Pickens a WR1 with Russ?
Clearly, the quarterback switch has unlocked the best parts of Pickens’ game. He excels at stretching the field, and with a quarterback capable of throwing an accurate deep ball, the Georgia product looks like an entirely different player.
In this small, three-game sample, Pickens has posted outings of 25.1, 11.4, and 20.5 fantasy points. His high mark came with five catches for 111 yards and a touchdown against a great New York Jets pass defense, too.
Pickens is the overall WR19 in fantasy football this season, and his 12.59 PPG average slots him in as the WR30 on a per-game basis. However, he averages 19 PPG through his three games with Wilson at quarterback. Where would that average rank him if it represented his season-long numbers?
He’d be third-highest in PPG among all wide receivers, ahead of Justin Jefferson, CeeDee Lamb, Amon-Ra St. Brown, and more big-name superstars.
Pickens’ ROS outlook
Is Pickens going to continue producing at this super-elite level throughout the remainder of the season? Probably not, in all likelihood.
Even with a bit of regression, though, Pickens will likely out-produce his pre-Russ statistical output. Even if he cools off to around 15-16 PPG, that would still be enough to place him at, or near, the WR1 production threshold. He’s a smash start in most matchups for the rest of the season as long as Wilson is under center.
After all, he’s got that (Georgia) dawg in him.
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