The Pittsburgh Steelers made a change at the quarterback position in Week 7, with the team going from Justin Fields to Russell Wilson, which many believed would be a benefit to wide receiver George Pickens.
After all, Pickens had struggled with consistency over the six games Fields started. He had just one 100-yard game in that span, and four contests with 57 yards or less. And, he didn't score a single touchdown, either.
However, Pickens benefitting from Wilson's entrance into the starting lineup hasn't come to fruition through the first quarter of the Week 7 game against the New York Jets. Let's take a look at what's going on.
Is George Pickens playing tonight?
Through nearly 15 minutes of action on Sunday night, Pickens doesn't have a single catch and just one target against the Jets. There could be multiple things at play to explain why that's the case, but one of those things is not injury to Pickens, thankfully.
For starters, Wilson and Pickens haven't had a lot of reps together after the former missed a ton of practice time during training camp, the preseason and the regular season.
Also, Wilson likely has to shake off rust after not having played a single NFL snaps since last season, outside of the one drive he had during the preseason. Furthermore, Pickens is likely drawing coverage from one of the best cornerbacks in the league, Jets star Sauce Gardner.
For Steelers fans and those depending on Pickens in fantasy football, Pickens is off to the worst start possible, but that's not entirely shocking. Things should get better the more Pickens and Wilson play together, it's just going to take some time.
