You can thank George Pickens’ unfortunate spring 2021 ACL injury for him being a Pittsburgh Steeler. Though Pickens made his season debut in Georgia’s November 27 regular season finale– eight months post-surgery — his draft stock still took a dive.
Initially projected as a first-round draft prospect, the 6-foot-3 receiver fell into the Steelers’ lap at No. 52 overall.
Pickens is proving teams that passed up on him in round one will regret overlooking him. But, hey, their loss is Pittsburgh’s gain. In retrospect, the Steelers could’ve grabbed a starting offensive lineman there, but looking ahead — no matter how poorly the unit plays this season — they’ll be glad they didn’t.
At +850, Pickens has the highest odds of winning Offensive Rookie of the Year, per BetMGM. Right behind him (+900) is Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett.
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The Pickens of the NFL Draft
In an NFL draft where wide receiver stock was historically deep, six went off the board in the first 18 selections. Pickens was the 10th selected and can probably recite the nine who went before him, much like Detroit Lions‘ Amon-Ra St. Brown. St. Brown saw nearly double the number of his counterparts taken before him and recently recited them all for HBO’s Hard Knocks.
Amon Ra St Brown remembers the school and selection of every receiver that was drafted ahead of him😳 | #OnePride #Hardknocks
Compared to St. Brown, Pickens would get off easy: Drake London, USC (Atlanta Falcons); Garrett Wilson, OSU (New York Jets); Chris Olave, OSU (New Orleans Saints); Jameson Williams, Alabama (Detroit Lions); Jahan Dotson, Penn State (Washington Commanders); Treylon Burks, Arkansas (Tennessee Titans); Christian Watson, NDSU (Green Bay Packers), Wan’Dale Robinson, Kentucky (New York Giants); Tyquan Thornton, Baylor (New England Patriots).
It’ll be interesting to keep tabs on how the wide receiver rookie class compares to Pickens this season.
Steel City Wide Receiver Factory
The Pittsburgh Steelers, under former general manager Kevin Colbert, were highly adept at scouting and selecting wide receivers.
“It’s nothing short of remarkable, the Pittsburgh Steelers‘ ability to identify, draft, and develop elite young wide receivers since what feels like time immemorial,” Heavy’s NFL insider Matt Lombardo wrote in his August 17 column In the Trenches.
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“Pickens has only been wearing the Black and Gold for one training camp and two exhibition games, but he certainly looks the part of the Steelers’ next great wideout, continuing a tradition that has included Johnson, Chase Claypool, Juju Smith-Schuster and Antonio Brown, to name a few.”
During his 22-year tenure as general manager, Colbert drafted 25 wide receivers, including Brown, Santonio Holmes, Smith-Schuster, Johnson and Claypool. The 2021 NFL draft, one of Colbert’s last, was the first time in eight years that a receiver was not among Pittsburgh’s selections.
The Steelers selected George Pickens and Calvin Austin III (No. 138 overall) in 2022 and took Claypool (No. 49 overall) and Johnson (No. 66 overall) in the two previous drafts. While we await to see whether Pickens and Austin’s names are worthy of the same sentence (other than this one) as the likes of Brown, Holmes, etc., the future looks bright.
There’s not a “caption this” in the world for what George Pickens said that isn’t very, very NSFW 😂
[🎥: @NFL_Memes]
“Already running with the first-team offense, Pickens was chosen No. 52 overall and looks to add ridiculous value to the Steelers’ vertical passing game,” wrote Lombardo.
The Steelers are flush with pass-catching playmakers — perhaps the most-ever options on one Pittsburgh roster. On paper, seeing the names of Johnson, Claypool, Pickens, Najee Harris, Pat Freiermuth and Austin is enough to make a defensive play-caller’s head spin. They certainly all can’t be covered, and someone (or two) will feast as a result.
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The Talk of Pittsburgh
The regular season is still over two weeks away, and already the secret of George Pickens is out.
Ex-Steelers cornerback Bryant McFadden caught up with his former coach and asked about the talk of Pittsburgh. Much like Chase Claypool in 2020, Tomlin would’ve liked to have kept Pickens’ enormous talent a secret. But it became too late the moment the rookie first set foot on the field in Latrobe.
“Shhhhh, don’t be talkin’ ’bout…,” Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin told McFadden.
“I don’t know that anything surprises me, to be honest with you. I was able to go to Athens and see his Pro Day, and sometimes that’s all you need from an evaluation standpoint. You get in person, and you see things at ground level at real speed. I don’t think he’s doing anything here that myself and the coaching staff that went to Athens, Georgia, didn’t see at his Pro Day. He’s just a really talented guy.”
Steelers Nation can’t wait to see what the future of Pickens brings.
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Insider Suggests Steelers’ George Pickens Can ‘Add Ridiculous Value’ in 2022