While the Pittsburgh Steelers track record in Cleveland hasn’t been great recently, it has produced some iconic moments. Whether it was Thursday night’s winter wonderland, or Myles Garrett slamming a helmet into Mason Rudolph several years back, when Pittsburgh plays the Cleveland Browns in Cleveland, something iconic is going to happen. George Pickens’ catch against the Browns in his rookie season easily makes that list.
Pickens made ESPN’s Sunday NFL Countdown all-time catch list to celebrate Odell Beckham Jr.’s iconic one-handed grab that happened 10 years ago.
On a Thursday night in 2022, as a rookie, Pickens made one of the most acrobatic catches you’ll ever see as he made a one-handed catch while diving and twisting his body.
Watch this catch by George Pickens #Steelers #NFL pic.twitter.com/UP4fASSlPb
— Steelers Depot 7⃣ (@Steelersdepot) September 23, 2022
Randy Moss, one of the all-time greatest wide receivers, commented on it.
“That’s beautiful,” said Moss. “One thing about George Pickens, he has a big catch radius. Throw it anywhere — he’ll grab it.”
Like this year, the Steelers lost that game, but Pickens’ catch will live in infamy. It is legitimately one of the greatest catches of all time due to the way Pickens had to contort his body and then catch the ball with just one hand while parallel to the ground.
Pickens has made plenty of spectacular catches over the years, and Moss is right that he has a big catch radius. That catch radius has allowed him to become one of the better receivers in the NFL. So far, Pickens has tallied 52 catches for 776 yards and two touchdowns. Pickens is also averaging 14.9 yards per catch as he is not only a deep-ball threat due to his insane catch radius, but also his yards after catch ability.
Pickens went from basically a jump ball specialist to an all around receiver. He’s shown the ability to take short passes to the end zone, as seen a couple times last year. Pickens’ route tree has also expanded since his rookie season as we have seen him be utilized over the middle of the field more than he used to be.
Despite the improvements Pickens has made to his all-around game, his calling card is still his spectacular catch ability. It makes him a match-up nightmare and allows him to make some of the greatest catches of all time, like his catch against the Browns a couple years ago.
