Tomlin: Pickens' maturity a work in progress, but I'm not benching him
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin believes second-year wide receiver George Pickens' growth off the field remains a work in progress but will not bench Pickens on Saturday when Cincinnati visits.
Pickens has drawn scrutiny outside the organization for his lack of hustle of late, particularly in a loss to Indianapolis last weekend in which replays caught him declining to block downfield for teammate Jaylen Warren and jogging after an Indianapolis interception rather than attempting to make a tackle.
Pickens dismissed the criticism, saying it's coming from people who don't play the game.
“They are never going to be in the NFL, they are just media guys,” Pickens said.
Tomlin chastised the 22-year-old for his interactions with the media, but he has no plans to take him out of the lineup against the Bengals.
“Man, he’s got talents,” Tomlin said. “We want to utilize him."
Tomlin added the team's struggles have played a factor in the negative attention Pickens has received. The Steelers (7-7) have dropped three straight and would be all but eliminated from postseason contention with a loss to Cincinnati (8-6).
“When you’re winning and doing your jobs, man, a lot of the attention and so forth is on things such as (winning),” Tomlin said. “When you’re not doing your job and losing, you better keep your damn mouth shut and understand that that attracts a certain type of attention as well. And usually, that’s vulture-like attention.”
Pickens began the season by topping 100 yards receiving in three of Pittsburgh's first six games. His numbers have dipped over the past two months. He's finished with under 50 yards receiving six times in his past eight games and scored just once.
Tomlin acknowledged earlier in the week there are players on the NFL's 28th-ranked offense who have trouble dealing with adversity. He expanded on that on Wednesday, calling it an occasional byproduct of being a player talented enough to reach the NFL.
“Some people hate them for no reason. Some people give them everything they ask for no reason,” Tomlin said. “We just try to give him truth and have a commitment in terms of working with him day to day and knowing that maturation and growth is a process. It’s not one meeting, it’s not one incident, it’s not one form of discipline, it’s a process.”
The Steelers have become well-versed in dealing with wide receivers who have made headlines for things that have nothing to do with their production, from Antonio Brown to JuJu Smith-Schuster to Chase Claypool. Tomlin believes the team has been largely successful in dealing with outsized personalities in the past.
“It’s a rerun for me and for us largely,” he said.
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