INDIANAPOLIS -- With wide receiver George Pickens eligible for a contract extension as he enters the final year of his rookie contract, Pittsburgh Steelers general manager Omar Khan emphasized the team's desire to retain their top vertical threat.

"I had a really solid exit meeting with GP, and I can tell you that he has a desire to be great," Khan said Tuesday morning at the scouting combine. "He has a desire to be great here. We have a desire for him to be great and to be great here, with respect to the contract.

"We won't discuss that publicly and usually those things are addressed at a later date."

Pickens, the team's second-round selection in the 2022 NFL draft, has 12 touchdowns in three seasons and totaled at least 800 receiving yards each year. He crested 1,000 yards in 2023 with 1,140 receiving yards on 63 receptions with five touchdowns, but his production dipped in 2024 because of a hamstring strain that sidelined him for three games. He finished the year with 900 receiving yards and three touchdowns, but Pickens drew ire from his head coach for some of his on-field conduct.

Pickens was flagged twice for unsportsmanlike conduct in a Week 13 win against the Cincinnati Bengals. A week earlier, Pickens was involved in a scuffle with Cleveland Browns cornerback Greg Newsome II during a Hail Mary attempt.

"He's just got to grow up, man," Tomlin said after the Bengals win. "This is an emotional game, man. These divisional games are big. He's got a target on his back because he's George, he understands that. But he's got to grow up. He's got to grow up in a hurry."

Tomlin also reiterated that stance in his end-of-season news conference a month later.

"There's certainly obviously more room for growth there," he said in January. "I think he covered some ground in 2024, but there's certainly a heck of a lot more ground to be covered, and we'll see where it leaves us."