Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver George Pickens has become known across the league as a receiver who can contort his body and make catches that seem to defy the law of physics. While no one’s questioned Pickens’ contested-catch ability or his athleticism, it’s the little things that he needs to do to improve his game. It’s something that stood out early on during his second training camp, and Pickens talked about how his mindset has changed from always wanting to make a difficult catch to getting “in the receiver bag.”
“Sometimes I actually get bored with making an easy catch,” Pickens said on the DVE Morning Show. “That was one of my things coming into college. I just always wanted to make the flashy catch, and when it was unneeded sometimes. But now I’ve kind of changed a little bit, got in the receiver bag a little bit.”
There usually isn’t a need to make the sort of catches Pickens has been known to do. In the situations he’s made impressive catches in games and practice, they’re certainly good plays, but it shouldn’t be his focus when he’s going to make a play on the ball. And it doesn’t seem like it is anymore. Obviously, an 18-year-old kid going into college might not see the value in making an “easy” catch, but when you get into college ball and the NFL, you do whatever it takes to secure the ball and gain as many yards as possible.
Pickens has talked extensively throughout the offseason and during camp about working on improving his yards after the catch and his route tree, so it’s not just him trying to sound good either when he talks about getting in his receiver bag. Pickens showing off that he can do the little things and run routes beyond just a fly route are the things that can make him a legitimate No. 1 receiver.
He had a ton of hype heading into last season, but he wasn’t able to always be a complete wide receiver. The fact that he’s showing that he can this offseason is why I’m buying into the Pickens hype. I think he can be Pittsburgh’s leading receiver this year, and I fully believe he can blossom into one of the best wideouts in the NFL.
We’ve seen how impressive he can be when he needs to make an acrobatic catch or win a ball over a cornerback. This season, I think we’ll see him work more in space and hopefully show that he can win over the middle and with his route running, not just his athleticism. Even if it might be boring, it’s what’s going to get him paid down the line, and the life-changing amount of money Pickens could receive certainly won’t be boring.
He knows what he has to do to get better, and he’s put it in practice. It’s going to be a lot of fun to watch him in his receiver bag this season.
