George Pickens
Wide Receiver
Georgia
Drafted in the 2nd-round of the 2022 draft. 52nd overall selection.
6' 3" 200lbs
21 years old (Born March 4th 2021)
When the Steelers drafted George Pickens with the 20th pick in round-2 it was instantly regarded as one of the better steals of the draft, and ended up as possibly the biggest steal of the draft.
Pickens was widely regarded as a 1st-round talent heading into the draft, but his limited games played at Georgia was a bit of a red flag.
He led the team in touchdowns, receptions and receiving yards as a freshman but his sophomore season was cut short by the Covid pandemic, limiting him to 8 games in 2020.
He then suffered a torn ACL at a spring practice before his junior season and came back to play in the Bulldogs last four games.
There was also some slight character concerns due to him being suspended for the first half of the Georgia Tech game for violation of team rules and then got into a fight with a Georgia Tech player that cost him the first half of the SEC Championship Game against LSU in his freshman year.
He ran a 4.47-forty at the combine and posted a 33" vertical jump, so it appeared that his knee injury was healing well or fully healed. Yet, his slide into the second round was most likely due to his medical concern. The Steelers apparently felt that any concern was worth the risk for the upside he had, and so far it appears it was.
Pickens has been putting together a very training camp to this point, and his first pre-season game showed why many think he was the steal of the 2022 draft.
he had 3 receptions on 5 targets for 43-yards and a 26-yard touchdown.
That touchdown catch made a lot of highlight reels as he pulled in a great throw by Mitch Trubisky in the back corner of the endzone and tapped down his second foot right in front of the pylon before falling out the endzone.
He also showed he can block. On one run play to the opposite side, Pickens took two steps towards the Cornerback in front of him and pushed him 3-yards backwards onto the ground.
If this pre-season game was any indication, it's going to be fun to watch the kid grow and develop. There are early signs that he could be something special.
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