Mike Tomlin knows what he’s doing. Oh sure, many of you will immediately fire back with any number of typical, and often extremely fair protests, but what I’m talking about is knowing his personnel. In the very first practice of the 2024 season, one of Tomlin’s new coaching hires gave him exactly what he was looking for.
New Wide Receivers Coach Zach Azzanni and star wideout George Pickens had a “heated” discussion and I have to believe that Tomlin was smiling wide. Maybe not physically, maybe it wasn’t a smile you could see, but I guarantee deep down he liked what was happening.
No one questions the talent of George Pickens. He literally has freak athletic ability that few possess and combines that with size and speed. What comes into question for Pickens is effort and attitude. It would be hard to blame Pickens for being a bit down and dismissive having played in Matt Canada’s horrific offense the last couple of years. That said, the effort was still lacking and that’s why Azzanni was brought aboard.
Let’s think about this from the perspective of the Steelers. You’ve got yourself a potential superstar who is entering his third season. Being a second round pick means his deal doesn’t carry the fifth-round option that first rounders have. Therefore Omar Khan will need to make some decisions come this time next year.
Those decisions will largely be based on Pickens’ performance but also his attitude and effort. That’s why Azzanni is here. In case you haven’t noticed, contracts for wide receivers are nearly as out of control as those of QBs. Currently, there are eight wideouts making $25 million or more. Four of those guys are at $30 million or more.
As most of you know the Steelers already have big contracts with T.J. Watt, Cam Heyward and Minkah Fitzpatrick among others. Add to that the fact that they don’t exactly like paying their wide receivers despite having done it a few times. So with all of this in mind, Khan and Tomlin need to know what they are getting themselves into with Pickens – if they don’t already.
If Pickens responds positively to Azzanni and performs well then maybe he does get that big contract from the Steelers. If these ‘heated’ discussions continue through the preseason and into the regular season then it’s more than likely Pickens and the Steelers will part ways.
Make no mistake about it, Mike Tomlin and the Steelers knew exactly what they were doing in hiring Azzanni. We are already seeing it play out.
