While they weren’t on the field long, Pittsburgh Steelers QB Kenny Pickett and WR George Pickens made quite a mark in the team’s 27-17 win in its preseason opener, connecting on a 33-yard touchdown pass. Breaking down the play on PFT Live, Chris Simms and Mike Florio gave Pickens the “joystick award” for Week One.
“Pickett was phenomenal. I think the Steelers won the award for best first drive of the year, to just march down the field, score a touchdown,” Simms said. “Pickett look[ed] really good, but this move by Pickens, what? To look right like that, get his whole body going that way and then jam his right leg into the ground and shake 34, dude is special. We didn’t see a whole lot of YAC from him last year. Man, they get YAC from him to go along with all the 50-50 ball stuff and all that, watch out for him this year.”
“The idea that he can take his whole body in one direction and put the defensive back on the ground, that’s a skill that can’t be taught and that’s a thing that puts him in position to be an elite receiver,” Florio added.
Pickens being able to expand his route tree and deliver after the catch is the key for him taking a big jump this season. Obviously, that means that Matt Canada has to deliver and call plays that give him the opportunity to show off that ability, but the preseason opener was a good sign that will happen this year.
All offseason, it’s something Pickens has harped on about needing to improve his game. He put into practice on Friday, and while that one catch was his only reception of the game, it was what Steelers fans needed to see to be confident in Pickens heading into 2023. The move was pretty incredible, harder to appreciate in the moment but gets even more incredible with each re-watch, especially with how seamlessly he fakes out the defender. Like Simms said, if we get more of that from Pickens this year, the league needs to be on notice.
There’s a real chance Pickens could ascend to the team’s No. 1 wideout this year. Diontae Johnson is incredibly talented, but if Pickens can be a contested-catch wizard and make plays in space, he’s going to be really hard to stop. He has the potential to be one of the best receivers in the league, and while that might not come as soon as this year, the more he develops the more dangerous he’s going to be. And as we saw, he can be pretty dangerous this season.
His growth will also help Pickett, giving him another consistent threat at receiver and someone else who he can get the ball to downfield and in space. It’s going to be a really fun connection to watch grow and develop over the years. While Pickens thinks it can get to incredible heights, even if it doesn’t get to the Ben-AB level it’s going to be potent.
