Behind the Steel Curtain
D.K. Metcalf is taking over for George Pickens in the Steelers offense – the two receivers are similar, but there are some important differences in their games.
Much of the Steelers’ 2025 offseason was spent discussing how the team would use both George Pickens and D.K. Metcalf in 2025.
Then, Pittsburgh traded Pickens to the Dallas Cowboys earlier this week, meaning that instead of having two high-caliber boundary threats on offense, the Pittsburgh receiving core looks largely the same as last year’s, with Metcalf just replacing Pickens in the X role.
A lot has, understandably, been made about the similarities between the two receivers. Both are big pass-catchers who run a similar, downfield route tree. They’re both known for loud personalities and happen to wear No. 14.
Jokes aside, there’s a reason why the Steelers are comfortable with Metcalf replacing Pickens. In many ways, the former Seahawk will be able to fill a similar role in the Pittsburgh offense.
But the two do have some stark differences in how they play which should stand out in 2025.
This won’t be a full breakdown of Metcalf’s game, or even a complete side-by-side of how he compares to Pickens — if you’re looking for more depth, I’ll point you to my colleague Ryan Parish’s March film room that gives a lengthy, tape-supported look at what Metcalf brings to the Steeler offense. It reads a bit differently now with Pickens off the team:
However, while going back and watching more Metcalf and Pickens routes this week, I noticed a major difference on plays where the receivers weren’t targeted at all.
It’s not exactly breaking news that Pickens wasn’t an all-out route-runner during his time with the Steelers. Watching the last few games of his season, his play-to-play effort wasn’t quite as poor as some might believe, but there were definitely plays where he was several gears below full speed.
Sometimes, it didn’t matter much, but other times it hurt his team.
Below, I’ve clipped two plays. The first is Russell Wilson’s Christmas Day interception against the Chiefs, where I remember BTSC member Steel34Defense pointing out that it had a lot to do with Pickens failing to run his vertical route on the bottom of the screen.
The all-22 makes it obvious. The safety never has a reason to bite on Pickens’ route, instead drifting to the middle of the field to pick off the pass intended for tight end Pat Freiermuth.
The second play is far less blatant, but Pickens (now at the top of the screen) is not at full speed on his go route, clearly throttling down before the ball is even in the air. The safety to his side of the field doesn’t get moved off Calvin Austin III at all, and the play, which was already a long shot, becomes even more impossible.
Then there’s Metcalf. He’s not immune to playing slower from time to time, but compared to Pickens, his explosion off the line and straight line speed...
