Ever since he was drafted, and I’m guessing probably even before, Pittsburgh Steelers WR George Pickens has often been compared to DeAndre Hopkins for his rare ability to win combat catches in the air. Now for the first time in his career, he’s not playing against Hopkins, but going against the team with whom he made his legacy in the Houston Texans.
So it’s no surprise that it came up again, and this time from a man who has some experience having to figure out how to defend him—in practice, anyway. Matt Burke is only in his first season as defensive coordinator of the Texans, but coincidentally enough, he was with Hopkins last year on the coaching staff of the Arizona Cardinals.
“He’s obviously a dynamic player. Really good at the catch point. Can go up with anybody and make plays at the high point”, he told reporters this week, via transcript provided by the team’s media department. “I would probably say that’s one of his specialties. I know this might be blasphemy, but he reminds me a little bit of D-Hop in that sense”.
Now in his 11th season, his first with the Tennessee Titans, Hopkins isn’t quite putting up the same numbers he once was. Through three games, he has 14 receptions for 153 yards and has yet to score. He has dealt with some injuries the previous two seasons as well.
His run with the Texans, however, is Hall of Fame-worthy. Over a six-year span, he recorded 695 receptions for 9,207 yards and 58 touchdowns. Unsurprisingly, he was a perennial Pro Bowler and All-Pro, with a truly spectacular highlight reel.
And Pickens is currently one of the best in the game at making some of those improbable catches, although he hasn’t had to as often so far this year. But it’s in his arsenal, and Burke and the Texans defense are prepared to defend that if it comes up.
“They put the ball up to him and they trust that he can go get it”, he said. “One of our sort of keys to victory is not giving up explosive plays, and he’s a big factor in that. We’ve got to ask our corners to play the technique that we ask them to play, and let the coverages work for them. If it’s a coverage that maybe they have to go to work on, they go to work on it. If there’s a coverage that we can help in this situation, then we’ll do that”.
One of their cornerbacks is former Steeler Steven Nelson, who is in his second year with the team. He’s had a pretty solid run and already has one interception this season, with three total passes defensed.
As I alluded to earlier, Pickens’ highlight reel has actually been cut down so far this year, but that’s a good thing. He hasn’t had to make the spectacular catches, more often than not, because the Steelers are finding him on the easier ones. And he’s putting up numbers. He has 238 yards on 13 receptions, including a 71-yard touchdown. And he’s still learning and growing. In the near future, I doubt there will be many remaining who would find the comparison to Hopkins blasphemous but rather gospel.
