Pittsburgh Steelers rookie receiver George Pickens is making quite the impression in the early stages of training camp with an incredible catch.

The Pittsburgh Steelers' offense is going to look and feel very different from what it did last year as they look to step forward into a new era for the team. Whilst a lot of the talk will be around the quarterback position as free agent signing Mitch Trubisky and 1st round draft pick Kenny Pickett look set to battle it out to see who will replace Ben Roethlisberger, there have been some changes to their weapons too.

The team lost JuJu Smith-Schuster to the Kansas City Chiefs whilst James Washington signed with the Dallas Cowboys, and whilst they do have Diontae Johnson and Chase Claypool already on the roster, they needed to bulk up and add some depth to the position. 

Miles Boykin was added in free agency, whilst George Pickens and Calvin Austin III came to them through the draft, in the 2nd and 4th rounds respectively, and it is Pickens who is the more intriguing of the two. 

Something of a risk

Pickens comes into the NFL with something of a weird resume from his days with the Georgia Bulldogs in college.  His first two seasons there were not the most productive, although there were some extenuating circumstances, such as the shortened season in 2020 as a result of the pandemic, meaning he was only able to make 85 catches across his freshman and sophomore years which turned into 1,240 yards and 14 touchdowns. 

Meanwhile his 3rd and final season there was disrupted by an ACL injury that he suffered in the spring, meaning that he could only play 4 games in total, which meant he could only make 5 catches for 107 yards. But there was clearly something there that the Steelers saw that made them think he could be a good, if not great player in the NFL.

And the early signs are that, despite not shining in college, they might be onto something. 

The risk might be paying off  

With teams back in full training camp, teams are finally getting into shape ahead of the start of the season. And whilst they are only going up against teammates rather than any form of serious opposition, players still need to make a play in order to impress the coaches.

And impress is certainly what Pickens seems to have done as he has been seen making some incredible catches despite some very tight coverage from his opposite numbers:

Whether or not this will translate into anything when the season begins, we’ll have to wait and see. But if it does, then the league might just have to start to pay attention to him and the Steelers as an offensive threat.