George 

Pickens

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Pickens was a Day 1 starter for the Steelers after getting drafted in the second round of the 2022 draft. He played at least 63% of his team's snaps in every game of his rookie season and at least 75% of snaps in every game last season. To this point, he’s been one of the league's least consistent big-play wide receivers. He’s earned a raw PFF grade of +1 or better — find out more about our grading system here — on 19.7% of his targets over the last two seasons, the second-highest rate among all wide receivers, thanks to several spectacular downfield catches. This has propelled him to an above-average yards per route run average, but he's been average in terms of target rate and the rate of catches that have gone for 5-plus yards.

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Now, the Steelers no longer have Diontae Johnson, and they also cut slot receiver Allen Robinson II. The team added Roman Wilson in the third round of the 2024 draft, signed Van Jefferson and Scotty Miller in free agency and brought in former Eagles slot receiver Quez Watkins. Throw in 2022 fourth-round pick Calvin Austin III, and you have five players who could each realistically win the Z or slot role.

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Pickens is being picked as a high-end WR3, which is a little risky. He has top-10 upside if he can increase his consistency, and he comes with the possibility of a high target share and a lot of long touchdowns. He could also fall victim to Arthur Smith’s offense and might not improve his consistency, in which case he won’t be worthy of being a fantasy starter. It would be good to add a more consistent veteran receiver later in the draft if you pick Pickens.