George Pickens has arrived to the NFL in a ferocious style. Since Pickens walked in the door as the Steelers second round pick he has dominated. From contested catches to acrobatic catches he has done it all.
George Pickens training camp
Everyone is very excited about George Pickens. Rightfully so, since the start of training camp he has dominated. There has not been 1 day that Pickens has not made a big play. The most interesting part about this is, he’s not out there just burning one guy. Everyone in the Steelers secondary has got it. Akhello Witherspoon has gotten it, so has Cam Sutton more than once, and Levi Wallace to name a few. Most recently he has held his own against All-Pro Minkah Fitzpatrick where he made a few nice catches.
After one big catch against Minkah coach Tomlin had this to say.
“Give him the business, GP!” Tomlin yelled at his young wideout. You can read more about this here.
Minkah responded with a batted pass on a comeback route. Here is what Tomlin had to say. “Fourteen, we’re coming back your way!” Per Bryan DeArdo
Pickens also had a pretty good showing in week one of preseason. He had 3 catches for 43 yards and a beautiful toe tap touchdown in the back corner of the end zone off a great pass by Mason Rudolph. There was also another play earlier on in the game, he had separation on the left sideline but Mitch Trubisky’s ball sailed on him and was not catchable. Pickens is a dog, plain and simple. He is big, physical, fast and makes the contested catches. The Steelers have missed having a guy who can go up and make contested catches since the departure of Antonio Brown.
There is chatter of Chase Claypool returning and having a great practice with his new mentor, former great wide receiver Brandon Marshall. The good news for Pickens is the Steelers and Claypool have come out and said Claypool will be playing a lot more slot where he is most effective. This means Pickens will be lined up outside and have plenty opportunity this year.
George Pickens is the perfect Steeler
With the departure of JuJu Smith-Schuster someone will have to step up and bring the toughness and grit at the receiver position. The Steelers always have a guy like that on the roster. Think back to Hines Ward, great blocker, tough player and selfless for the team. That is exactly what JuJu was for the team and now that role will be Pickens. If you look back to his tape in college there are more times than you can count where the play was designed to go away from him and he would release off the line with a nasty streak and put a corner on their butt. Well, he has not stopped doing that. Click here and scroll to the one minute mark to see a video of Pickens absolutely destroy the defender.
Cam Heyward Talks About Pickens Blocking Ability
Cam Heyward speaks on the development of Pickens and his ability as a blocker. He notes that the Steelers have lacked the ability to have tough blockers in the receiver room. He goes on to add how Pickens forces DB’s to stay ready, even if the play is not coming his way he’s looking to to take the DB out.
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