George Pickens ought to listen to his favorite piece of Mike Tomlin advice for once

Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver George Pickens made headlines for the wrong reasons on Sunday night, throwing Dallas Cowboys cornerback Jourdan Lewis down by his facemask.

This isn't the first time Pickens has been on the receiving end of criticism for his on-field antics, as his lack of effort run blocking was called out by several teammates in 2023. And, like so many diva wide receivers before him, Pickens sulks on the sideline when he's not getting the ball consistently.

Mike Tomlin had an answer for Pickens last season, calling the embattled Georgia product into his office to hash things out. Pickens was hardly the same distraction after the fact, leaving most Steelers fans to assume Tomlin had finally reached his young weapon.

George Pickens should listen to Steelers coach Mike Tomlin's advice

In an appearance on Adam Schefter's podcast, Pickens was asked what he liked most about playing for Tomlin, and the best advice he's received from the future Hall-of-Fame coach thus far.

Essentially, Tomlin told Pickens that he should only worry about himself, and how he can help the team, rather than distractions occurring around him. In that respect, Pickens failed on Sunday night, when he let Lewis' trash talk get the best of him.

At least one of Pickens' teammates is tired of his act, as reported by Dejan Kovacevic on Monday morning. That teammate specifically called Pickens out for his lack of effort on a deep ball.

"One veteran on offense told me it was a 'perfect ball,' adding that its placement just in bounds was precisely where the receiver would've been had he bothered running," Kovacevic wrote. "Sounds like a problem, I responded to this veteran. At which point a series of invectives were spat out regarding Pickens, and I'll keep all the rest between us."

Pickens is a young player who is destined to make some mistakes. He ought to learn from those. However, at a certain point the 23-year-old has to grow up and mature into the No. 1 target he appears destined to be. If not, he'll just be more wasted potential -- something Tomlin knows a lot about given his pedigree.