George Pickens displayed a nauseating amount of arrogance after his first good game in what seems like forever.
The wide receiver posted an elite stat line in a 34-11 blowout of the Cincinnati Bengals. Pickens hauled in only four catches, but racked up 195 yards and two touchdowns.
The first of his scoring catches came on an 86-yard catch and run in the first quarter.
He followed that up with a 66-yard strike in the third quarter.
The wide receiver naturally felt good about himself after his career night. Maybe a little too good.
During the waning moments of the game, Pickens looked into a camera and made a rather noticeable gesture with a not-so-subtle message.
Undoubtedly, Pickens fired back at those who criticized him for his lack of hustle in recent weeks. And he just validated the arguments of his critics who say he’s immature.
George Pickens Should Check His Ego Before Celebrating
Mind you, this is the same wide receiver who said he doesn’t like blocking for teammates so he can avoid getting hurt. His lack of effort reached such dramatic proportions that head coach Mike Tomlin and running back Jaylen Warren called him out on separate occasions. Most of OutKick’s coverage of Pickens involves him doing dumb stuff.
And yet after one game, he seems to think he’s done enough to quiet his doubters.
If anything, he just proved their point about his selfish tendencies.
If Pickens were really mature, he would be excited about his performance (and justifiably so), without reacting in a braggadocious way – especially after all that he’s done to cause problems. Only children think that one good performance rights a season’s worth of drama.
I’ve got news for Pickens. One week, you can be on top of the world in the NFL. Next, you could look like you don’t belong in the league.
Pickens has a long way to go before he proves he’s worth Pittsburgh’s time.