Steelers lack of trust in George Pickens is obvious, despite what Mike Tomlin says

The Pittsburgh Steelers had a golden opportunity to maintain sole possession of first place in the AFC North on Sunday Night Football as they hosted a Dallas Cowboys team that had been far from intimidating in the first four weeks of the season, but they lost in frustrating fashion on their home field.

Their defense, as it almost always does, showed up, limiting Dallas to just 20 points. Their offense, however, was nowhere to be found. Justin Fields played poorly, Najee Harris was inefficient, and not a single pass catcher performed up to par. Harris led the team with 35 receiving yards. It's really hard to win that way.

The story of Sunday's game wasn't the frustrating loss. It also wasn't even Russell Wilson's looming return. It was George Pickens, and for all of the wrong reasons. Not only was he outsnapped by two different receivers despite being Pittsburgh's WR1, but he threw a tantrum in the final seconds of the game, taking an embarrassing penalty.

Mike Tomlin did his best to downplay Pickens' rough night on the field, saying that the reason receivers like Van Jefferson and Calvin Austin III saw more snaps than Pickens had to do with preserving their most talented weapon and trying to get the most out of him when on the field. Tomlin can use that excuse all he'd like, but it's a really tough one to buy.

It's abundantly clear Steelers don't trust George Pickens no matter how much Mike Tomlin wants to argue otherwise

Pickens finished the game with three receptions for 26 yards. Sure, Pickens having a rough night matched up against a really good cornerback like Trevon Diggs would make sense, but three receptions? 26 yards? As if that stat line wasn't bad enough, Pickens only played in 59 percent of the snaps. He isn't expected to play 100 percent of the snaps, obviously, but Jefferson appeared in 81 percent of the snaps. Austin was at 76 percent. Pickens wasn't just out-snapped by those two receivers, he was out-snapped by a wide margin.

Trying to keep Pickens rested and productive when he is on the field sounds good in theory, but how does it make any sense to leave their most talented weapon on the bench for almost half of their offensive snaps while letting Jefferson and Austin see the field so much more, especially on a night when they couldn't generate much of anything?

The Steelers know how talented Pickens is. He had over 1,100 yards last season despite the likes of Kenny Pickett and Mason Rudolph throwing him the football. He was taken in the second round of the 2022 NFL Draft for a reason. Despite his talent and the lack of talent in the receiver room, Pickens is not playing nearly enough.

This Steelers wide receiver room is nowhere near as talented as it should be. There's a reason that they were heavily involved in the Brandon Aiyuk offseason trade rumors. There's a reason that they're involved in the current Davante Adams rumors. Pickens is the only receiver on this team close to talented enough to be a legitimate WR1, yet his snap count suggests he's Pittsburgh's WR3.

Tomlin can talk about wanting to keep Pickens fresh all he wants, but when the other options are Jefferson and Austin, there's something else going on. It's pretty clear, whether right or wrong, that the Steelers have little faith in Pickens right now which is alarming.