Steelers: The George Pickens hype train just reached maximum capacity
Pittsburgh Steelers WR George Pickens is on his way to becoming one of the best players in the league. Seemingly getting better by the day, the 22-year-old isn't even in his prime yet. But a pair of former and present Steelers DBs think it's already time to mention him amongst the league's best: Ryan Clark: […]
Pittsburgh Steelers WR George Pickens is on his way to becoming one of the best players in the league.
Seemingly getting better by the day, the 22-year-old isn't even in his prime yet.
But a pair of former and present Steelers DBs think it's already time to mention him amongst the league's best:
Ryan Clark: "George Pickens is much more talented than Justin Jefferson"
“I’m gonna say this as an LSU guy talking about another LSU guy and comparing him to a Georgia guy, George Pickens is much more talented than Justin Jefferson,” Clark said on NFL Live. “Justin Jefferson understands playing everything at the position from stems, leverage, catching the ball, he’s a savant. But here’s the other thing, and Coach Tomlin told me something that I thought was great, he said they didn’t even work to tolerate him, and they certainly didn’t try to raise him at Georgia. They didn’t embrace who George Pickens is.”
If you dig deeper than the surface, you can see the message that Clark is trying to get across. Pickens can't tie Jefferson's shoelaces in terms of rookie year comparison, and the ascension that J.J. has taken since then.
But that doesn't mean he isn't capable of duplicating the successes of Jefferson. Let's not forget that Pickens played with multiple QBs, a questionable play caller, and in a run-centric offense last season, and still went for over 800 yards and had a higher ADOT (average depth of target) than JJ ever has.
Not to mention, Jefferson has had continuity at the quarterback position, with stable if not above-average play from Kirk Cousins. Pair that with the inception of HC Kevin O'Connell's offense last year, and it's clear who's had the better infrastructure to start their career.
Patrick Peterson: "I can definitely see It"
“I definitely can see it,” Peterson said when asked about Clark saying Pickens is more talented than Jefferson. “GP [George Pickens] is very, very raw. He’s very unpredictable when the ball is coming his way in terms of catching ability. On my podcast, All Things Covered, the other day, I called his hands magnets, because if the ball is coming near them, he finds a way to come down with the catch."
So there you have it, not one but two former LSU tigers and one in Patrick Peterson that spent all last year with Jefferson saying that Pickens can reach those levels.
But can and will are two different things. We'll see if Pickens turns the hype into reality in just three weeks' time.
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