Steelers Najee Harris, Diontae Johnson offer sage advice for George Pickens

June 27, 2024

PITTSBURGH — Najee Harris wasn’t voted a Pittsburgh Steelers captain by his teammates this season, making him one of the few who has been “demoted’ from one year to the next. Considering Mike Tomlin was hellbent after Harris’ rookie year to push his running back down that path of leadership, it was kind of surprising it turned out that way.

You can take the “C” off his chest, but you can’t take the captaincy out of his blood.

It was hard to ignore George Pickens’ frustration and social-media scrubbing over the weekend, which came after a second consecutive game (Thursday’s 20-16 win over the Tennessee Titans) in which the talented receiver was not much more than an afterthought in the game plan. While many of the Steelers — including Pickens himself — were tip-toeing around any discussion of the topic, Harris revealed he had a conversation during the game with Pickens.

Pickens was visibly pouting on the sidelines during the first half against the Titans, as he garnered three targets and one catch for 2 yards before the break. It got the attention of offensive coordinator Matt Canada, who had a pre-halftime talk with Pickens on the bench.

The topic drew more attention following the game, after Pickens turned his back to Diontae Johnson instead of celebrating the game-winning touchdown, was the first one in the locker room and first one out, and then unfollowed many teammates on Instagram over the weekend before posting the message “free me.”

While Pickens and Tomlin downplayed the incident, Harris did not.

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“I talked to him at halftime,” Harris said. “Whenever you are a key player in the offense, (the opponents) aren’t just going to let you blow up the stat sheet. People don’t realize that they aren’t going to let you be a game-wrecker. They will find ways to minimize that player, and when they find ways to minimize that player, it creates chances for other players. That’s part of being a team.”

Harris had a similar message for Pickens during the game and also when the team returned from its extended break Wednesday to begin preparation for Sunday’s game against the Green Bay Packers.

“I told him in the middle of the game, too, that he has to keep his composure, and, ‘When you have the opportunity to make a play, make a play,'” Harris said. “GP is a talented guy. It’s OK, you are young, but you have to handle it in a better way. It is nothing to make a big deal out of. This is the NFL, it’s part of the sport. There will be ups and downs.”

By all accounts, Pickens accepted the constructive criticism from Harris, and some from Johnson as well.

Pickens doesn’t always talk to the media, and when he does, it’s typically later in the week. However, he was front-and-center inside the locker room moments after the Steelers’ practice ended Wednesday, although he dodged most questions and dismissed the idea that his social media activity was driven by frustration with his role.

Asked how he can get more involved, Pickens said: “All I can do is to just keep working, to be honest. I can’t express it anymore. I just have to keep working. That’s it.”

On his social media: “I don’t mix social media and football. I was just clearing out my page, to be honest. It had nothing to do with the Steelers.”

On not celebrating Johnson’s touchdown: “I was just getting back to the sidelines. His touchdown engineered victory, so I don’t know how I can be mad at that.”

George Pickens pic.twitter.com/Oc9Pl5W96u

— Mark Kaboly (@MarkKaboly) November 8, 2023

There is an underlying issue, however.

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Pickens has just 10 targets, three receptions and 21 yards over the last two weeks, as Johnson has been worked in more after returning from injured reserve three weeks ago. By comparison, Johnson has 23 targets, 15 catches and 175 yards in the last two games.

Pickens has found himself being an easy target for double teams, considering he lines up outside and usually doesn’t move around before the snap. That forces Kenny Pickett to go elsewhere based on the presnap read.

“Leaving him in the boundary, it’s very easy for him to get doubled,” Pickett said. “Moving him around and not having him being a sitting target is a start. Everybody is competitive, and that’s what you want. I don’t want guys who aren’t on the same wavelength.”

The Steelers will likely get Pickens more involved this week by moving him around the formation. It would help if Pickett made accurate throws when targeting him, and for Pickens to get his feet inbounds, as he failed to on what should have been an easy touchdown against the Titans.

“It was frustration from the game,” Johnson said. “I had a good talk with him, and he understands. He is moving forward and knows how to handle himself the next time. You don’t want people to create that narrative by putting that out there.”

Johnson and Harris would know about that. Johnson had a 655-day drought before he found the end zone, and while he got frustrated, he never lashed out. Harris still gets frustrated with eight- and nine-man boxes but has come to realize that defenses taking him away makes others better.

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It took Harris a while to realize that. He’s hoping he can help Pickens get past it quicker than he did.

“I told GP that there is nothing wrong with being frustrated — it’s just how you handle things when you are frustrated,” Harris said.

“Keep playing,” Johnson said. “Don’t worry about the play that just happened. The ball will find you. You are a professional, and you have to act like a professional. One bad moment isn’t going to hurt you. It is how you respond.”

(Photo of Najee Harris, 22, and George Pickens: Justin Casterline / Getty Images)

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