If you were asking where George Pickens was during the Steelers' Sunday Night Football game against the Cowboys, you weren't alone. Pickens was suspiciously quiet. There's a reason for that... but it's not the one Mike Tomlin is giving us.
With snap count numbers at the touch of our fingertip, we can see that Pickens only saw the field for 34 snaps in Week 5. In comparison, Van Jefferson played 47 snaps and Calvin Austin III played 44 snaps. Pickens ranked just 5th among snap count numbers among Steelers' skill players on SNF.
So what's the reason for this?
If you ask Coach Tomlin, it's all about snap management. During his Week 6 press conference, Tomlin fielded questions about Pickens and his limited usage. The Steelers head coach chalked it up to 'load management'.
"It's just a snap management thing in an effort to be more productive," Tomlin said during the presser. "In today's game, regarding analytics, we do it across a lot of positions. Particularly when you look at the totality of a seventeen-game schedule. I'd imagine Cam Heyward, for example, is playing fewer snaps than he has."
Only what he said doesn't make sense.
Over the past three games, Cam Heyward's snap count has increased significantly in each contest. And this is a 35-year-old player whose body is taking a beating in the trenches every play.
Mike Tomlin tried to justify George Pickens' snap management: "I'd imagine Cam Heyward, for example, is playing less snaps than he has."
— Tommy Jaggi (@TommyJaggi) October 8, 2024
Meanwhile, Heyward's snaps over the past 3 games:
Week 3 - 34
Week 4 - 48
Week 5 - 55
On the other hand, Pickens is a 23-year-old receiver who didn't even play enough snaps in Week 5 to have the opportunity to get gassed. Something else is going on here, and we know what it is.
George Pickens has an effort problem Steelers must resolve
Tomlin explained that he doesn't see an effort issue from George Pickens. But many Steelers fans would beg to differ.
We're not oblivious to what's going on. We have access to All-22 tape and we can examine the footage for ourselves. Recently, I cut up every snap from Pickens against the Cowboys, and I have to warn you: it's painful to watch.
What you will see is a player not looking to get involved as a run blocker and one who is running half-speed on his routes. As a result, Pickens was barely open in this game, and when he was targeted, he had difficulty reeling in the football.
Pickens finished the Cowboys game catching three of seven targets for a mere 26 yards.
The problem isn't about snap management (as Tomlin would like to convince us); it's about effort. And this isn't Pickens' first offense.
Last year, the talented wide receiver was called out for giving up on his teammates at times. Against the Colts in 2023, for example, Pickens' unwillingness to block resulted in Jaylen Warren getting stuffed short of the goal line instead of easily punching the ball into the end zone for a score.
Mike Tomlin can try to sweep these issues under the rug all he wants but don't feed us a load of bologna about George Pickens needing 'snap management' to reduce his workload. There is a legitimate effort problem here that the Steelers must address with their top offensive weapon.