Steelers’ George Pickens dubbed NFL’s 9th-most ‘undervalued’ WR in 2023-24 season
The second-year receiver was among the NFL’s best in “dollars per yard” last season.
In his second year with the Steelers, wide receiver George Pickens didn’t enjoy the Pro Bowl season he and many fans anticipated. Still, he showed noticeable improvement from his rookie year, emerging in 2023 as the Steelers’ leading wide receiver statistically and recording his first career 1,000-yard season.
From 2022 to 2023, Pickens actually outperformed all of his rookie season stats, logging 63 receptions for 1,140 receiving yards and five receiving touchdowns in his second season in the NFL.
These numbers were sufficient to rank George Pickens among the top NFL receivers according to a metric created by PennStakes.com using information from Pro Football Reference. To calculate a player’s “dollars per yard,” receivers’ total yards—both rushing and receiving—are divided by their cap hit for the season.
Pickens’ 1,158 total yards to $1,534,586 cap hit ratio in the 2023-24 season was good enough for the ninth-best mark among NFL receivers, with Pickens’ dollars-per-yard sitting at $1,419.
Pickens only behind (in first place, with only $515 per yard) receivers Josh Downs, Demario Douglas, Rashee Rice, Tank Dell, Rashid Shaheed, Nico Collins, Amon-Ra St. Brown, and Puka Nacua in the measure. However, in the 2023–24 season, Pickens was surpassed in yardage only by Nacua, St. Brown, and Collins.
There’s no doubting that George Pickens is a terrific asset for the Steelers while he’s still on his rookie contract, even though he still has a lot of growing to do in his NFL career. Pickens will play a major role in the Steelers’ 2024–25 offensive assault as they bring in a new offensive coordinator for the 2024–25 campaign.
