Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver George Pickens has been the limelight as of late for all the wrong reasons.  From drama stemming from inconsistent play a few weeks ago, to maturity issues with media availability, and more recently, ruining Mike Tomlin’s Week 7 ‘super-secret’ quarterback plan.

The news on Russell Wilson’s Week 7 start, that Pickens leaked accidentally, was unsurprising to most fans, as there were subtle hints that Justin Fields was going to be benched.  However, former All-Pro Steelers’ RB Le’Veon Bell believes Wilson will open doorways for Pickens that he hasn’t had before.

Can anyone truly argue with what Bell is predicting?  From his highlight reel catches, to being one of the most complete receivers in today’s game, Pickens’ talent is undeniable.  Wilson, who has had extremely talented receivers unlock their potential under his signal calling before, should get more out of Pickens’ production than any previous QB has gotten before.

There was a lot of uncertainty surrounding Russell Wilson and the Pittsburgh Steelers entering their Week 7 game. Wilson had yet to play this year, and Justin Fields seemed to be playing well. While Wilson wasn’t perfect, he did seem to quickly establish a connection with George Pickens, and Jets head coach Jeff Ulbrich pointed to it as a reason why his team lost Sunday night.

“The combination of [Pickens] and [Wilson], it got the best of us,” Ulbrich said after the game via the team’s YouTube channel. “We need to play it better and also need to provide more schematic answers, and more help in those times.”

Wilson and Pickens were absolutely lethal against the Jets. Pickens recorded five catches for 111 yards and a touchdown, his first of the year. He also drew a massive pass-interference call that helped the Steelers score their first touchdown of the game. It seemed impossible to cover him, even for Sauce Gardner, arguably the best corner in the league.

Ulrbich is talking like the Jets left Pickens wide open throughout the Steelers’ 37-15 win. In reality, they were playing good defense. The issue was that Wilson was uncorking the ball as far down field as he could, and Pickens was somehow always hauling it in. It felt like every catch he made against the Jets was spectacular.

Credit to Wilson for giving Pickens those opportunities. Not every deep ball was placed on the money, but they all gave Pickens a chance. In this game, that’s all he needed. After his first outing on Sunday night ended poorly, Pickens proved that the lights were not too bright for him this week.

Wilson’s deep ball has often been the best part of his game, and it was on full display against the Jets. He was an unknown going into this game, but now, there’s a clearer picture available. With Wilson under center, it looks like the Steelers should feed Pickens early and often. The Jets had no answers, and it’s probably something other teams will struggle with as well. Pickens and Wilson’s abilities complement each other nicely.

Former Steelers All-Pro RB Le'Veon Bell made headlines this week as he and former Steelers All-Pro WR Antonio Brown attended Pittsburgh's Week 7 Sunday Night Football game against the New York Jets.

In the buildup to the game, one of the key storylines surrounding the 'Steel City' was the controversial quarterback switch initiated by Head Coach Mike Tomlin. While some fans were confused and frustrated by the polarizing decision, Bell stated that Steelers WR George Pickens would look better than ever under the new starting quarterback, Russell Wilson.

After Pickens produced 111 yards and one touchdown on just 5 catches, Bell took to social media to give the Wilson and Steelers doubters a piece of his mind.

The New York Jets elected to deploy man coverage. George Pickens knew what to do.

“You know when you get those situations,” Pickens said late Sunday night, “you’ve got to most definitely capitalize.”

Pickens was speaking not long after he had five catches for 111 yards and his first touchdown of the season during a 37-15 win against the Jets.

New York was down a pair of injured starting cornerbacks, and in Russell Wilson’s first start for the Steelers he found Pickens for 44 and 37 yards plus an 11-yard touchdown to make for what arguably was Pickens’ best game of the season.

“George in 1-on-1 circumstances is a good target,” coach Mike Tomlin said, “and (Sunday) he displayed the reasons why.”

Pickens had combined for just six receptions for 79 yards the past two games with Justin Fields as the quarterback. Tomlin switched to Wilson this week, and his connections with Pickens proved it a worthy decision.

“George is so talented, he makes it easy on the quarterback,” Wilson said. “He knows how to get open. He knows how to make plays, his ability to make contested catches is remarkable.”

The 44-yard catch during the second quarter was down the left sideline on what Wilson calls his “moon ball” was Pickens’ longest gain of the season. Pickens’ 37-yard catch in the third quarter came after Wilson’s pass deep down the right sideline bounced off of New York safety Isaiah Oliver’s helmet.

“Just concentration,” Pickens said.

Fellow Steelers receiver Calvin Austin III said: “That one was different. It wasn’t surprising though. He has great ball skills and was tracking it. It was a third down so that was big to continue the drive.”

In between the two long receptions was an 11-yard touchdown that showed chemistry — or, perhaps just veteran savvy — between Wilson and Pickens, which connected on a timing route near the back-right corner of the end zone while Brandon Echols was in what appeared to be good coverage.

“Throw it up to him — I’ve been saying that since rookie year,” said Austin, who like Pickens is part of the Steelers 2022 draft class. “It’s not even surprising.”

Pickens’ big game came two weeks after his snap count was lowered and he showed palpable displays of frustration during a home loss to the Dallas Cowboys.

But Pickens broke out Sunday, in part because of a combination of having nine-time Pro Bowl quarterback Wilson and in part because of a depleted Jets secondary that was without cornerbacks D.J. Reed (groin injury) and Michael Carter Jr. (back) and for a brief period was without All Pro Sauce Gardner (lower-body).

Pickens had five receptions (nine targets) for 111 yards and a touchdown in Sunday's 37-15 win over the Jets.

Pickens produced his best fantasy score of the season in quarterback Russell Wilson's first start for Pittsburgh. The veteran quarterback brought the best out of his top wideout, which should have Pickens' fantasy managers ecstatic about what might lie ahead. The 23-year-old blossomed as a sophomore last season with a 63-1,140-5 receiving line, but he had gotten off to a slow start with mobile quarterback Justin Fields at the helm for the Steelers' first six games. Now that the more accurate Wilson has taken the reigns of the offense, Pickens should see a boost in projections heading into next Monday's tilt against the Giants.