Former Pittsburgh Steelers offensive lineman Max Starks was highly critical of wide receiver George Pickens following the team’s loss to the Dallas Cowboys.
The Steelers are looking for more production from Pickens, who recorded just 26 receiving yards, his lowest total of the season, during the Week 5 defeat to the Cowboys.
Starks, speaking on the SNR postgame show with Mike Prisuta and Charlie Batch, emphasized that the Steelers need more maturity from Pickens.
“I need wide receivers to stop thinking they’re bigger than the game itself,” Starks said.
“Putting personal statements on your eye black, and the emotional outbursts on the sidelines, are not conducive to team building. It’s not camaraderie.
“Some guys need to grow up faster than they are. If you want to be a number one receiver, act like a number one receiver.
Don’t behave like a number three receiver in those moments. Don’t shrink when you want the ball.
“He needs to grow up, and he needs to prove it on the field.”
Starks, a two-time Super Bowl champion with the Steelers, played alongside wide receiver Hines Ward for eight seasons. Ward is known as one of the most selfless wideouts in Steelers history.
Before the Cowboys’ final play, a desperation lateral, Pickens had managed only 1 catch for 13 yards in the second half.
Drama Surrounding George Pickens Against Cowboys
Pickens started the night in an unusual way.
During the Sunday night game against Dallas, he sparked conversation on social media due to a message written on his eye black.
“Steelers WR George Pickens is not playing around,” read a post on MLFootball’s X account, which included a photo of Pickens’ eye black.
The night worsened for Pickens from there. After the final play, he tackled Cowboys defensive back Jourdan Lewis by the face mask.
Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin later addressed why Pickens played fewer snaps than usual.
“We just wanted to kind of minimize his reps to get more productivity,” Tomlin said in his postgame press conference.
“We’re managing reps for the big picture. [Pickens] wasn’t less of a focal point in our offensive intentions, but we did want to reduce his reps to get higher-quality play.”
Tomlin stressed there was no “underlying story” behind Pickens’ reduced playing time.
However, with only 26 receiving yards, the eye black incident, and the face mask tackle, Pickens had an eventful night full of storylines.
Max Starks Criticizes George Pickens
Pittsburgh’s receiving issues extend beyond Pickens, with little production behind him on the depth chart, allowing opposing defenses to focus on him.
Nevertheless, Pickens leads the team with 310 receiving yards.
Still, Pickens had opportunities to make a bigger impact in the close loss to the Cowboys, but failed to do so.
The “quality” of Pickens’ route running during the Cowboys game may explain why he played only 59% of the team’s offensive snaps in Week 5.
In the previous three games, he had played at least 74% of the offensive snaps.
This inconsistency prompted further criticism from Starks on the SNR postgame show.
“You say you’re always open,” Starks said. “Show me what you do when you’re open. Let the ball hit your hands. Do something about it.
“Don’t just pout. Go block downfield, and maybe you’ll be part of the next play-action pass. That’s a big play.
When it’s more ‘me’ than ‘we,’ you take away from the team.”
