Skyy Moore Remains the Better Choice

When you have a disgruntled player on your roster that exhumes talent and play-making ability such as Pittsburgh Steelers Wide Receiver, George Pickens, you take the good with the bad. However, when your team sits 5-3 on the season, and you just won a tough AFC contest, you should be happy. Instead, the Pickens ‘free me’ temper tantrum is why the Kansas City Chiefs passed on him in the 2022 NFL Draft.

When University of Georgia Wide Receiver, George Pickens slid out of the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft, it was hardly a surprise.  NFL Scout, General Managers, and Head Coaches feared he was going to be difficult to corral at the NFL level. During the workout period before the NFL draft, the Kansas City Chiefs, and the other 31 teams, felt the same way about Pickens. He had enormous talent but was he mature enough to handle the ups and downs in the NFL?

At first, the answer seemed to be yes. However, that abruptly changed when he removed all his Pittsburgh reminders on his social media pages and demanded to be set free so he could catch balls from another quarterback.

The Steelers are hardly going to oblige to the antics of their best wide receiver, but this latest outburst is a reminder to all Chiefs fans why General Manager Brett Veach, chose Skyy Moore ahead of Pickens.

Moore has been the center of constant criticism for his lackluster play this season. Most recently the fan base turned on him because of the easy touchdown pass he dropped in the Broncos game. It’s true, fans should be upset about the missed opportunity, but I’d take Moore over Pickens any day of the week, and that includes Sunday!

Pickens has no business outing his team at this stage of his career because of the lack of touches in consecutive games. He fell down the draft board to the mid-portion of the second round because of the very behavior he’s displaying now. It’s childish and it’s disruptive. True the Steelers offense isn’t very good, nor will it be at any point this season. Yet, they are winning more games than losing.

For most players, that’s pretty good within the growing pains of an offense that’s evolving, but not for Pickens.

Admittingly the Chiefs have a confidence problem at the wide receiver position. Head Coach Andy Reid and Quarterback, Patrick Mahomes have worked tirelessly to mold the group into a cohesive unit that can make both the normal plays and the ones required when Mahomes is at his improvisational self.

Granted none of the Chiefs receivers possess Pickens talent, but none of them display the attitude that likely will cause the former Georgia Receiver to have a very up-and-down NFL career.

Still, Moore must play better, but so do, Kadarius Toney, MVS, and Mecole Hardman. If you could put those trio of receivers into one body, they’d have the talent of Pickens. 

Now in defense of Pickens, if he were on the Chiefs, he’d probably have a better attitude, but there’s no guarantee he wouldn’t be acting the same in Kansas City.

The bottom line is the Chiefs made the right decision on Moore.

Again, I’ve said this a hundred times. There was not a single receiver drafted ahead or behind Moore, that ran better routes, had better hands, and understood how to break down a defense, than KC’s second-round pick of a year ago.

I said the same thing about this year’s second-round pick, Rashee Rice.  The fact Rice is playing better than Moore as a rookie has caused some in the fan base to put the bust label on Moore. I say it’s far too soon to make that claim.

On Sunday morning, Moore gets another chance as the Chiefs do battle with the Miami Dolphins. What he does with that chance might go a long way toward changing the narrative that is unfairly running within the fan base.