WATCH: George Pickens hauls in game-winner for Pittsburgh Steelers
Former Georgia wide receiver George Pickens caught the game winning touchdown for the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 13-10 win over the Las Vegas Raiders on Saturday night. Pickens, who is in his first season in the league after being drafted No. 52 overall by the Steelers in the 2022 NFL Draft this past spring, caught all five of the targets that came his way for 57 yards. With the win, the Steelers stay alive in the playoff hunt at 7-8 on the season.
Pickens’ five catches, including his third touchdown of the season, gives him 47 total on the year for exactly 700 yards. It’s third among rookie wide receivers behind Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave.
“Yeah, he is. Yeah he is. That’s no surprise to me. I got to see that first hand every day,” Smart said about Pickens during a Friday morning radio show appearance, speaking about Pickens and the fantastic rookie season he’s having. “Every day, there’s a reel of those (spectacular catches) that were just unreal. He daily made catches like that. He’s one of the best contested catch guys I’ve ever seen in my life.”
Pickens joined fellow rookie out of Georgia James Cook in scoring a touchdown during Saturday’s slate of NFL games. The Bulldogs had an NFL record 15 players picked during the 2022 NFL Draft including five first rounders.
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Over the course of his collegiate career, Pickens put up big numbers at Georgia too. The former five-star was named to the Coaches’ Freshman All-SEC Team in 2019 after leading Georgia in receiving with 49 catches for 727 yards and eight touchdowns. He followed that up in 2020 tying for the team-high with 36 catches for 513 yards and six touchdowns despite missing a pair of games. Both of those seasons featuring standout performances of 100 yards or more going for 12 catches and 175 yards in the Sugar Bowl against Baylor, five catches and 126 yards at Missouri and seven catches and 135 yards in the Peach Bowl versus Cincinnati. Pickens hauled in a pair of touchdown passes each year against Missouri before suffering a torn ACL the spring prior to his junior season. He would return and play a part in Georgia’s final four games of the year before being drafted by the Steelers in the second round.
“You’ve got to remember, George has kind of been training for this most of the year because he wasn’t with us. He was rehabbing a knee and doing a lot of springs,” Georgia head coach Kirby Smart said about Pickens at Georgia’s Pro Day after his strong showing at the NFL Combine. “That correlates with running a good 40. We were happy to get him back when we did. He helped us, but he also helped himself because he was able to get on the field and get some tape.”
Pickens and the Steelers continue their long-shot quest to get into the playoffs on New Year’s Day on the road against the Baltimore Ravens, who are currently in a Wild Card spot. Then it’s a second straight game against a division foe to close things out at they host the Cleveland Browns on January 8th.
