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WR George Pickens, PIT (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter JohnnyU
- Start date
Rookiefever
Footballguy
I get more of a Brandon Marshall vibe from him. But truth be told I really dislike comps. I’m curious what you see in him to bring you to that green comp? Imo Pickens is more rough , rugged and physical and green was smooth and tactical.
Faust
MVP
George Pickens
"Hopes were high for Pickens coming into this year. If anything, he’s exceeding those expectations. Surely, you’ve seen the highlight-reel grabs on social media. Beyond that, Pickens’ competitive spirit is challenging Joey Porter Jr. on a daily basis. That battle between two young guns is helping both parties. The thing to watch going forward is how much Pickens’ route tree evolves, something he believes will be the case after catching the overwhelming majority of his passes on go routes last year."
higgins
Footballguy
I'd definitely take Olave as my first priority. He was great/polished as a rookie and had Andy Dalton as his QB -- now he gets Carr.
I'm not sure how to view Pickens -- for reference, I have Pickens in one dynasty and traded him away in another. On one hand he's an electric player but one thing I've been hearing was he was not a good route runner -- that can be worked on but if he has separation problems that could lead to problems early.
I don't have a major opinion on Aiyuk vs. Pickens but since your description of league format sounds dynasty-like, Pickens is considerably younger.
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Deamon
Footballguy
Probably a post for the Assistant Coach thread.
Regardless, this seems like a pretty simple one and would definitely pick Olave, no question. Miles ahead of the other two this year and in the future.
rockaction
Footballguy
I'd rank it Olave easily first because of talent, route running, volume, and situation. I'd have Aiyuk second because the guy is a filthy route runner and athlete; it's just that he's not in the ideal situation. Pickens is sort of enigma. I also drafted him and traded him away, but that was in a package to get Davante Adams. Pickens apparently has trouble separating and running all the routes in the route tree. It's been documented that a vast majority of his routes last year were "go" routes. He admits it in interviews, too. The question is can he become that great route runner, because nobody can question his hands or contested catch prowess.
So really, I'd have it Olave>Aiyuk>Pickens, but all three are certainly roster-worthy if Aiyuk sees enough targets and Pickens expands his route tree. I hope that helped.
Chaka
Footballguy
Notebook updated.
ericttspikes
Footballguy
For dynasty, I love that Pickens is only 22.
I thought Kenny looked good the other night. Also liked to see Pickens with a catch in traffic and some YAC for the TD. Haters seem to think he's only a go route guy. If Pickett can continue to progress the sky is the limit for George IMO.
I thought Kenny looked good the other night. Also liked to see Pickens with a catch in traffic and some YAC for the TD. Haters seem to think he's only a go route guy. If Pickett can continue to progress the sky is the limit for George IMO.
TwinTurbo
Footballguy
He made that TD a couple days ago against the Bucs look easy but it was pretty filthy: https://www.steelers.com/video/highlight-pickett-finds-pickens-for-a-33-yard-td
Shows the expansion of the route tree and his athleticism. For this season, it's fair to rank it Olave > Aiyuk > Pickens. But I think Pickens has as much upside as either guy.
TripItUp
Footballguy
I would argue he has the most upside due to his size and contested catch ability.
TwinTurbo
Footballguy
Also not sure if this article from July was posted earlier, but it made me take another look at Pickens, in a good way.
George Pickens Thinks He’s the Best Receiver in the World—Because He’s the Weirdest
pghrob
Hail to the Chief
Brian Batko: bbatko@post-gazette.com and Twitter @BrianBatko.
Aug 17, 2023
The one big thing: Former Steelers safety Ryan Clark called wideout George Pickens “much more talented” than Vikings receiver Justin Jefferson, who led the NFL with 128 catches and 1,809 yards last season. That inserted the Steelers’ second-year star into the hot-take cycle. Clark’s fellow ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky then compared the Kenny Pickett-Pickens connection to Kirk Cousins and Jefferson.
Asked about that bold claim by Clark, veteran Steelers cornerback Patrick Peterson said he’d probably have to agree with from a talent standpoint. Peterson, who played with Jefferson the last two seasons in Minnesota, replied, “I can see it,” adding that Pickens is “very, very raw” and “unpredictable.”
Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, speaking not long after Peterson following Wednesday’s practice, didn’t really want to take sides. But Fitzpatrick talked up Pickens as being “once in a generation” when it comes to his body control, and acknowledged that he has seen his teammate do things in practice that no other player can do.
Our take: Clark was at Steelers practice last week, so it’s entirely possible that he saw something that was the impetus for his assertion. Or perhaps he heard something, given that his praise of Pickens also came with a somewhat cryptic comment he attributed to Mike Tomlin. According to Clark, Tomlin noted that Georgia “didn’t even work to tolerate [Pickens], and they certainly didn’t try to raise him.'”
Confusing phrasing aside, Clark appears to be relaying that any character issues that surfaced for Pickens in his college program weren’t dealt with in the best way. If that caused perhaps the most talented receiver on the planet to fall to the second round, Tomlin seemingly isn’t fazed.
But one person who hasn’t been nearly as quick to pump up Pickens this summer is Tomlin. He has seen firsthand what can happen when a brilliant player has so much success so quickly. In the span of a year or less, Chase Claypool plateaued production-wise and showed signs of immaturity. Antonio Brown completely unraveled slowly, Martavis Bryant more quickly.
It’s not a bad thing when respected NFL minds are falling over themselves to buy stock in one of your best young players. If Pickens turns out to be everything they believe he can be, the Steelers’ only challenge might be making sure he stays grounded as he rises,
What’s next: The final practice of training camp, again at 1:55 p.m. Thursday, their last of training camp at Saint Vincent.
Brian Batko: bbatko@post-gazette.com and Twitter @BrianBatko.
First Published August 17, 2023, 5:30am
Tanner9919
Footballguy
I want to believe, I really do. debating on whether to keep him in a dynasty league or not. great talent. will the coaching staff get creative with him or just let him do the fly routes and straight to the EZ nonsense like he did in UGA? Im WAYYY more interested in Dotson and some other WRs. If I can get Pickens later on in the draft, then maybe, but I won't be keeping him heading into the draft. I'd rather have Elijah Moore - in case you missed it, Moore got some end-around carries last week. if Watson comes around, Moore can dominate.
joey
Footballguy
Keep 5 dynasty league?
half snarky but half wondering what your league settings are to mention not keeping him heading into your draft.
People are a little too excited about one handed grabs. It happens, I get it, but I wish it were easier to find regular highlights of him putting in some work.
I bet he gets offensive PI called a few times too. He's got that basketball move where his hand is almost in his chest pushing the guy away where no one can see. Coaches are going to scream about that and weeks later it'll be called.
Very curious and intrigued nonetheless
I bet he gets offensive PI called a few times too. He's got that basketball move where his hand is almost in his chest pushing the guy away where no one can see. Coaches are going to scream about that and weeks later it'll be called.
Very curious and intrigued nonetheless
Deamon
Footballguy
Why would you not keep a player in dynasty?
Alex P Keaton
Footballguy
Because you get a trade offer from someone who is willing to pay more than the value you place on a player?
Deamon
Footballguy
This seems to insinuate that if you didn't "keep him", that he would be back in the draft. This confused me.
massraider
Footballguy
He actually had 800 yards and 4 TDs, plus another TD rushing, and a 2 pt. conversion.
One handed grabs are just a nice bonus.
Alex P Keaton
Footballguy
Yeah, I see what you mean.
Alex P Keaton
Footballguy
My biggest worry is that the dude is odd (from what I’ve read) and seems more interested in being odd and staying contested than in getting wide open.
TripItUp
Footballguy
It's tough to play psychologist from afar. But yes, you would definitely prefer a more steady personality.
Also, plenty of HOF WRs been a little crazy.
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massraider
Footballguy
He's a WR. I assume he's bat**** crazy.
Alex P Keaton
Footballguy
Yeah, but it isn’t just that he’s a bit crazy. It extends to his style of play. In interviews he talks about how he likes to do things on the field that DBs will never expect, very chaotic and unusual. I wonder - pure speculation - if he spends so much time trying to be unique that it prevents him from simply getting wide open by running clean routes.
LawFitz
Footballguy
This was with running almost exclusively Go routes. Give the kid a proper WR1 route tree, rather than a WR3 tree and then let's see what's what. Hard to separate when you run a 4.47 and almost ALL you get are 9s. Give the Go's to Calvin Austin and his 4.32 and allow Pickens to operate all over the field. Even with the (context-lacking) separation issues, we have this to note... Separation doesn't seem to matter for this dude the same way it does for others:
Next Gen Stats' top 10 pass catchers by CROE of 2022: Surprise at No. 1!
Nick Shook ranks the 10 best pass catchers of the 2022 NFL season using the Next Gen Stats metric of catch rate over expected (CROE). See which rookie made the list -- and who surprised at No. 1!
He's way early on the crazy NFL WR spectrum/timeline. We can (and probably will) revisit this angle in the years ahead, but right now he has Mike Tomlin and the still-very-developing chase for his second contract keeping anchor.
As I stated upthread, my one and only major concern for this kid is Matt Canada. Is that guy capable of reading the tea leaves here?
(Minor concern is Kenny Two Gloves, but I am way more optimistic about that guy's 2023 progression than I am Canada's.)
socrates
Footballguy
Canada should have never been brought back. He is a definite problem, but he will surely not be around beyond this season.
This was with running almost exclusively Go routes. Give the kid a proper WR1 route tree, rather than a WR3 tree and then let's see what's what. Hard to separate when you run a 4.47 and almost ALL you get are 9s. Give the Go's to Calvin Austin and his 4.32 and allow Pickens to operate all over the field. Even with the (context-lacking) separation issues, we have this to note... Separation doesn't seem to matter for this dude the same way it does for others:
Next Gen Stats' top 10 pass catchers by CROE of 2022: Surprise at No. 1!
Nick Shook ranks the 10 best pass catchers of the 2022 NFL season using the Next Gen Stats metric of catch rate over expected (CROE). See which rookie made the list -- and who surprised at No. 1!www.nfl.com
He's way early on the crazy NFL WR spectrum/timeline. We can (and probably will) revisit this angle in the years ahead, but right now he has Mike Tomlin and the still-very-developing chase for his second contract keeping anchor.
As I stated upthread, my one and only major concern for this kid is Matt Canada. Is that guy capable of reading the tea leaves here?
(Minor concern is Kenny Two Gloves, but I am way more optimistic about that guy's 2023 progression than I am Canada's.)
TripItUp
Footballguy
I toss out a lot of the statistics from last year to some degree with them playing a rookie QB who didn't throw for much.
800 is good for a rookie, no doubt, but Diontae catching zero TDs is made too much of. He's clearly a gem (too?) and I'm simply enjoying people putting a stink in him so he's available later.
Which do you prefer:
Diontae against a teams #2 CB
Or
Pickens against a teams #1 CB
(Yes yes assuming not zone and all sorts of assumptions, play along please)
800 is good for a rookie, no doubt, but Diontae catching zero TDs is made too much of. He's clearly a gem (too?) and I'm simply enjoying people putting a stink in him so he's available later.
Which do you prefer:
Diontae against a teams #2 CB
Or
Pickens against a teams #1 CB
(Yes yes assuming not zone and all sorts of assumptions, play along please)
No, well yes and no
We have to pick around talented duos fairly often like Waddle or Tyreek?
which are you choosing
If he didn't tear his ACL, we would be talking about him in the same conversations as Olave and Wilson.
The only fear would be that he tears his ACL again, because the talent and work ethic is there in spades. Got him as WR4/FLEX in many leagues.
He's way more talented than Diontae and it's not close. It's the ACL reinjury that is my concern. Because the guy otherwise is a dog.
The only fear would be that he tears his ACL again, because the talent and work ethic is there in spades. Got him as WR4/FLEX in many leagues.
He's way more talented than Diontae and it's not close. It's the ACL reinjury that is my concern. Because the guy otherwise is a dog.
massraider
Footballguy
I mean, what’s the problem? He’s not Chase or Jefferson? He’s not bulletproof?
OK.
Still looks awesome.
OK.
Still looks awesome.
massraider
Footballguy
Diontae Johnson is the #2 in PIT
TwinTurbo
Footballguy
The main reason I really like Pickens is he's an alpha WR that has elite skills and plays BIG. Its the same reason WR like Sutton are on my DND list. He looks great on paper but plays SMALL in actual games.
Sure Pickens still has room to improve and refine his skills, but he absolutely destroys corners on contested catches. He imposes his will on the defense, not the other way around.
Sure Pickens still has room to improve and refine his skills, but he absolutely destroys corners on contested catches. He imposes his will on the defense, not the other way around.
MCFootball123
Footballguy
I think it's also important to note this year Pickens will be 2 years removed from his ACL. That along with Pitt expanding his route tree should help with his lack of separation.
Football Jones
Footballguy
Pickens might be the best value in ‘23.
And I like to watch him block just because. Nasty.
And I like to watch him block just because. Nasty.
Ilov80s
Footballguy
Yeah for some reason Ive been resistant but he’s winning me over. Reminds me a lot of AJ Green (but nastier). I just wonder if that kind of player if the best fit for the modern NFL. No doubt he’s so fun to watch.
Don Quixote
Footballguy
Yeah - I had him on my trading block in one league, but never went anywhere because I was higher on him than others.
Someone offered me Dalvin Cook for Pickens and a 1st back in February, which I rejected; when I explained that I would no way be giving up a first or any pick on top of Pickens for Cook, guy was surprised I had Pickens higher than Cook as a dynasty asset. It just looks like a ridiculous offer now, if it was not then.
FreeBaGeL
Footballguy
I love this guy, and am buying him up where I can. Huge upside. But also huge risk that he's another Brandon Lloyd or other contested catch specialists that had trouble separating, where we see them make these great catches every couple weeks and wonder why they are stuck being middling fantasy players.
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