Tomlin says he doesn’t question Pickens’ effort

PITTSBURGH — Though Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver George Pickens played a career-low 34 snaps in the loss to the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday night and appeared to run some of his routes at less than full speed, coach Mike Tomlin said Tuesday he didn’t have a problem with the receiver’s effort.

Tomlin also explained Pickens’ workload reduction as a part of a “snap management” strategy.

“I didn’t have any outlying issue with his effort,” Tomlin said. “As I mentioned after the game … that’s just a snap management thing and an effort to be more productive in today’s game regarding analytics, we do it across a lot of positions, particularly when you look at the totality of a 17-game schedule. I’d imagine Cam Heyward, for example, is playing less snaps than he has just trying to grow and trying to get optimum productivity among some individuals and going about the best means of doing so, and so that’s probably a reflection of the snap totality of last week.”

Pickens, the Steelers’ top wideout following the offseason trade of Diontae Johnson to the Carolina Panthers, played 59% of the snaps Sunday, a career-low and fewer than fellow wide receivers Van Jefferson (81%) and Calvin Austin III (76%). Pickens finished the game with three receptions for 26 yards on seven targets. Heyward, who Tomlin compared Pickens’ usage to, played 72% of the defensive snaps, leading all defensive linemen.

“Most players, particularly in today’s game that have specialized skill sets that play positions like receiver, they don’t play every down — they’re like rush men,” Tomlin said. “They don’t play every down because you need them in significant moments. You need ’em at the back half of the season. You need ’em in the second half of football games and those weighty downs, and so it’s really just a 2024 discussion regarding load management.”

In the first four games of the season, Pickens played 68%, 77%, 74% and 86% of offensive snaps. His previous career-low usage was 63% of offensive snaps in the 2022 Week 18 win against the Cleveland Browns.

Asked if he’s seen Pickens not running his routes as hard, Tomlin said it’s “certainly part of the load management discussion.”

Pickens also drew attention for his actions off the field in Sunday’s loss. He wore eye black with an expletive, “Open F—ing Always” and yanked Cowboys defender Jourdan Lewis down by the facemask after the game when Lewis appeared to say something to the receiver after the Steelers’ failed, last-ditch hook-and-lateral.

Tomlin said he hadn’t seen the message on Pickens’ eye black, but he said he’s addressed Pickens’ behavior behind closed doors.

“It’s certainly things that I’m open to addressing and will and do,” Tomlin said. “I just don’t detail, and in settings like this because it’s business between he and I in terms of his growth and development as a player and as a man. I just don’t think it aids that growth and the development to address it in open settings such as this regarding his behavior. I am aware of that and obviously that has been and will continue to be addressed.”

Pickens’ tenure, which began when the Steelers selected him at No. 52 overall in the 2022 NFL draft, has been marked with highlight-reel catches, sideline outbursts and discontent and plays where his effort was publicly questioned, like last season’s loss to the Indianapolis Colts where he obviously failed to block for running back Jaylen Warren.

Before the 2024 season, Tomlin said he believed Pickens was ready to handle the attention and adversity that comes with being the team’s top receiver, but the coach acknowledged Pickens fell short with Sunday’s facemask grab and another moment where the receiver was seen throwing his helmet down so hard it bounced over the Steelers’ sideline bench.

“In those instances, no,” Tomlin said of Pickens’ ability to handle adversity. “But largely it is been an improvement in those areas certainly.”

Tomlin also said he believes Pickens has grown in the two-and-a-half years since arriving in Pittsburgh.

“He’s certainly gotten better,” Tomlin said.