Madden Monday: George Pickens 'knows he is all the Steelers have at WR ... and it ain't good that he knows that'

At Pittsburgh Steelers training camp over the weekend, wide receiver George Pickens tried to downplay his verbal dust-up with new position coach Zach Azzanni on Wednesday.

During the first full practice, Pickens missed a block that blew up a run play, and Azzanni got on him about it.

“I welcome him,” Pickens said of Azzanni’s tough coaching. “I had a coach like that in college, so it’s not a huge change for me. That’s Coach Z’s personality.”

Pickens also called Azzanni “a great guy” and “high energy.” While there appears to be no lingering resentment from the incident for now on Pickens’ end, Mark Madden of 105.9 The X and TribLive says that Pickens’ behavior is still something to monitor.

“Pickens has a hair trigger anyway. So it’s an awfully early start,” Madden said during this week’s “Madden Monday” podcast. “If that would have been Pat Freiermuth yelling at the tight ends coach (Alfredo Roberts), that won’t be a big deal because, sometimes players get mad at the coach. But Pickens is a guy who doesn’t need much of an excuse to just go off the deep end. That’s why this is a concern.”

Pickens has popped off via social media and on the sidelines during his first two years as a Steeler.

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That track record puts Madden on alert, especially since the Steelers have very few options to turn to at wide receiver if Pickens’ attitude turns sour.

“The thing with Pickens is, he knows he is the guy,” Madden added. “He knows he is all the Steelers have got at receiver … and it ain’t good that he knows that.”

Even though Pickens is going to be Pittsburgh’s main receiving target this year, he hasn’t exactly shown the consistency necessary to be called a No. 1 receiver in the NFL.

For instance, Pickens led all of the NFL in yards per catch last year (18.1), but from Oct. 29 through Dec. 16 of last year, Pickens failed to have a 100-yard game and topped 60 yards just once.

Sure, a lot of that had to do with the Steelers’ shoddy quarterback play. Unfortunately with Russell Wilson and Justin Fields as the options this year, it’s no lock that 2024 is going to be much better at the QB position.

So, while most Steelers fans and media members obsess over who the No. 2 receiver will be in the Steelers’ offense, Madden wonders if Pickens is really worthy of being considered a No. 1.

“We don’t know that Pickens is a No. 1,” Madden said. “We don’t know if he can handle the burden of coverage and the pressure of being that target.”

Also, during the podcast, Madden and I discuss Wilson’s injury, Freiermuth’s ceiling, the Pirates’ series in Arizona, expectations for the Bucs at the trade deadline and Liverpool’s game at Acrisure Stadium.