Pittsburgh Steelers’ George Pickens soars up NFL Leaderboard

On By Littum

PITTSBURGH – Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver George Pickens has taken off during his third season in the NFL, and first with quarterback Russell Wilson. The 23-year-old has become a fixture when talking about the up-and-coming wideouts in the league, and his latest performance added him to a group of statistical leaders in the second half of the season.

With his 89-yard performance against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 11, Pickens has climbed into the top five receiving yards leaders in the NFL this season. With 728 yards, he ranks fourth in the league behind Ja’Marr Chase (1,056 yards), Justin Jefferson (912) and Ceedee Lamb (774). Zay Flowers rounds out the top five with 727 yards.

Pickens’ jump was significant this past week, moving from ninth in the NFL after Week 10 to fourth after Week 11.

The jump comes off a stretch of impressive outings since Wilson returned from his calf injury. In four games with the veteran quarterback, Pickens’ stat sheet has included 111-yard, 74-yard, 91-yard and 89-yard performances. He has also caught two touchdowns in that entire stretch.

He is currently on pace to match his career high of 1,140 yards from last season. This comes while averaging nearly three yards less per carry. completion, down to 15.2 after 18.1 last year.

Pittsburgh will hope Pickens is just getting started as he soars with Wilson at quarterback. Finally, adding Mike Williams to the lineup should take attention away from Pickens, allowing the rising star to create even more opportunities for himself.

Pickens has said his goal for the past two years is to win a Super Bowl while also making Pro Bowls and receiving All-Pro honors. If this streak continues, he should have an opportunity to climb even higher on the leaderboard, making it a real possibility that he finds himself with one of those honors in 2024. And with the Steelers 8-2, the a Super Bowl be as real.

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