Pittsburgh Steelers wide-receiver George Pickens took a stunning one-handed catch in the first quarter of the team’s Thursday Night Football game against the Cleveland Browns. Pickens received the pass from QB Mitch Trubisky. This is just his third game in the 2022 NFL season.

Who is George Pickens?

American football wide receiver George Malik Pickens Jr. plays for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). The Steelers selected Pickens with the 52nd overall choice in the 2022 NFL Draft.

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Pickens was born in Hoover, Alabama, on March 4, 2001. He was a Hoover High School student. He recorded 69 receptions for 1,368 yards and 16 touchdowns as a senior. In the 2019 Under Armour All-American Game, he participated. He was a five-star recruit who had previously committed to play collegiate football for Auburn University before switching to the University of Georgia.

Pickens was given playing time right away in his first season. In his first year in Athens, he had an immediate impact, leading the squad in 49 receptions, receiving 727 yards, and 8 touchdown receptions. This led to him earning a spot on the SEC All-Freshman Club and sharing the team’s Offensive Newcomer of the Year Award.Although he was suspended for the first half of the Georgia Tech game for breaking team rules, and subsequently got into a fight with a Georgia Tech player, which cost him the first half of the SEC Championship Game against LSU, he still participated in all 14 games with two starts.

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In the following year’s 8-game, COVID-19 pandemic-shortened season, Pickens caught 36 catches for 513 yards and a team-high six touchdowns. Pickens suffered an ACL tear in the spring of 2021, which kept him out for the most of his junior campaign. However, he finished strong with a 52-yard reception in Georgia’s victory over Alabama in the College Football Playoff National Championship game. He came back to play in the year’s final four games, catching just five catches. Pickens declared for the 2022 NFL Draft on January 14, 2022. 

The second-round pick of the Steelers inked a four-year, $6.752 million contract, which includes a $2.09 million signing bonus. He has fully guaranteed funds of $700,000 for skill, injury, and salary cap. Pickens will get $1.011 million on fully-guaranteed money in his second season.

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While attending Georgia, Pickens received the A.J. Green Family Football Scholarship, which is named after the former Georgia standout and seasoned NFL receiver. Chris Humes, the brother of Pickens, played football for Winnipeg for two seasons in the Canadian Football League and at Arkansas State at NFL.