Pittsburgh Steelers second-year wideout George Pickens has never been short on confidence.
The former five-star recruit who began his college career at Auburn and finished it at Georgia, helping the Bulldogs win the 2022 CFP championship, is primed for a huge season for the Black and Gold.
Pickens is a throwback wide receiver in a sense, one who doesn’t mind blocking or going across the middle, but he’s also a deep threat.
This array of talent fuels the confidence of the 2022 second-round pick, who believes he’s the best wide receiver on the planet.
In a recent interview with Kevin Clark of The Ringer, Pickens gave reasons why he truly believes “he’s him.”
Best In The Whole World?
The old adage has always been “if you don’t believe you’re the best, then who will?” and Pickens sounded as if he’s that guy during that interview.
“The stuff that I do, bro, I feel like I’m the best in the whole world,” Pickens said. “I’m big, I’m fast, low [4.4 speed]. Catch radius is crazy. So every time I get out on the field, I do kind of play angry because I should get the ball on every play if you look at the size and the frame. If I was a coach, I’d just throw to him every time. But that’s not how the NFL works. So, every time that I’m out there, that’s why I throw the blocks. I love getting the ball, and when I’m not getting the ball I play angry, so the attention is back on me. I basically draw attention to myself.”
When asked to expound on what he meant by “best” in the world, Pickens’s tune didn’t change one bit.
“Receiver in the world, I’m not going to lie to you,” Pickens said. “If you want a receiver, you create a player, it’s ‘Oh, I’m gonna put his blocking 99, catching 99, speed 99.’ That’s me. … As far as what you’d use to build a receiver, I’m the ideal guy.”
Pickens is a good, young receiver who has all the tools to be a perennial Pro Bowl player and/or All-Pro selection. But he must mature and continue to develop.
Pickens Rookie Season Was Solid
The Steelers QB situation was in chaos early on in the 2022 season. With future Hall of Famer Ben Roethlisberger hanging up the cleats at the end of the 2021 season, it left a huge void.
The team signed former No. 2 overall pick Mitchell Trubisky, and drafted Kenny Pickett with the 20th pick of the 2022 NFL draft. While, both struggled, Pickett seemed to win over the team and coaching staff with his late-season play.
It would help the second-year quarterback immensely if Pickens did actually blossom into an elite receiver and a matchup nightmare for every defender. The confidence is there. Let’s see if the results match, because this isn’t a video game.
Pickens’ numbers in 2022, 52 receptions for 801 yards and four touchdowns in 12 starts reflected that struggle. But, he and Pickett seemed to find a connection late in the season. Head coach Mike Tomlin is hopeful that carries over into 2023 and years to come.
