Mike's Beer Bar War Room: Pickens has all the tools to be NFL star

The Steelers have quite a history of taking wide receivers on the second day of the NFL Draft and turning them into good players, with Diontae Johnson and JuJu Smith-Schuster being just the latest.

They're trying it again this year with their selection of Georgia's George Pickens in the second round of the draft.

How does Pickens fit in with his new team? 

What are his strengths and weaknesses? 

And what is the likely plan with this new addition? 

Before addressing strengths and weaknesses and fit, let’s quickly examine Pickens’ back story. It is very important in this case. 

Pickens went to a famous football factory in Alabama, Hoover High School, where he was an Under Armour All-American and a five-star recruit, the top recruit, in fact, in the state of Alabama. We shall get to Pickens’ traits very soon, but it is very easy to see why he was so coveted as a recruit. 

Pickens burst on the scene as few receivers do at Georgia. He caught 49 balls as a true freshman, which was eight more than he hauled in during his final two subsequent college seasons. 

Not only did Pickens set the Georgia freshman receiving record, but he also was among the best wide receivers in college football at such a young age. College breakout age is a huge indicator of NFL success -- the earlier the breakout the better --and much like a guy such as Ja’Marr Chase, Pickens was a dominant wide receiver at a huge school at a very young age. 

This isn’t an exaggeration. After Pickens’ freshman year, he looked like a potential first-overall pick. 

It is a little unfair to insinuate Pickens dropped off after his freshman year. The reality is that he was still a great player in his second season as well, even without great quarterback play, but 2020 was cut short to just 10 games because of COVID. 

Pickens did miss two games with an upper body injury that year, but still lead the Bulldogs in receiving and receiving touchdowns in his eight games played. 

Pickens averaged 14.8 and 14.3 yards per catch respectively during those first two years in college before suffering a major knee injury, tearing his ACL in spring drills. That injury kept Pickens from playing in Georgia’s first 11 games, but he returned at far less than 100 percent health to help lead his team to a National Championship. 

Despite lacking his extra gear and usual explosion. Pickens averaged a whopping 21.4 yards per completion, albeit it on just five receptions and 63 snaps last year, to conclude his college career. 

He was the best wide receiver on his team the minute he stepped on campus until the minute he left Georgia. Over 71 percent of Pickens catches in college resulted in a touchdown or first down.

Still not at full health, Pickens performed quite well at the NFL Scouting Combine and at Georgia’s Pro Day. 

The key numbers to know from those events are his height (6-foot-3 1/4), weight (between 195 and 200 pounds), his huge 78-inch wingspan, his 4.47 40-yard dash as well as respectable broad (10-foot-5 inches) and vertical (34.5 inches) jump numbers. But Pickens played like a better and more explosive athlete on his early career tape than those impressive numbers even indicate. 

Obviously a big wide out, Pickens plays big. He shields defensive backs on slant routes and routinely goes up and high points the football over the top of cover men. Pickens has outstanding ball skills and tracking abilities in tight quarters or deep downfield. 

He uses his long arms to routinely pluck the ball away from his frame, greatly increasing his already large catching radius. He has great late separator skills and wins time and time again at the catch point:

At the college level, Pickens often ran by his opponent, which won’t happen with as much ease for him at the next level. But speed isn’t a concern with the Steelers' newest weapon. He really builds up speed downfield with his large strides. But more so than his pure speed, what Pickens has is burst in and out of his breaks as well as stop-start quickness that you rarely see from a tall receiver. 

Pickens is also a very smooth and fluid mover overall. He is very competitive after the catch with some make-you-miss abilities and a burst with the football in his hands. 

This is a player that has an edge to him. He is very competitive and plays the game with great physicality. That shows up throughout his route, at the catch point, as well as blocking in the run game:

Georgia has produced some outstanding running backs for the NFL and blocking is required from wide receivers more than at most football programs. Pickens took his blocking to a new level. And expect him to add more good weight to his frame in the coming years. Adding more strength would be a good idea to best handle the rigors of the NFL’s 17-plus game season.

There are some things about Pickens’ personality that are reportedly somewhat concerning. 

He was suspended briefly for violating team rules in 2019. This is obviously second- or third-hand information, but it appears from afar that Pickens had somewhat of an entitled attitude as a very young man that experienced extreme success so early. But he also is very emotional and somewhat volatile. 

Again, this is from afar, but it appears as though much of that stems from extreme competitiveness and a driving desire to win. Most early round prospects would not have returned to their team after Pickens’ knee injury, fully knowing that he wasn’t putting his A-game on tape. The Steelers have had great on the field success with some recent wide receivers with “big personalities."

In terms of usage, Pickens played outside as well as in the slot from early on in his college career. He could potentially do the same for the Steelers, but the more logical approach for his development would be to leave Pickens as exclusively an outside receiver, most likely on the line of scrimmage as an X.

In fact, Pickens is the prototypal X receiver with his size, strength, tenacity and ability to beat man coverage, which is one of the biggest challenges all rookie receivers face entering the NFL. He already displays a diverse package of release moves versus man coverage. 

Pickens didn’t run a very diverse route tree at Georgia and limiting his alignments and simplifying things early on would be best for his professional transition, but he does sink his hips well and should be able to develop quickly as a route runner. 

Under Kevin Colbert, the Steelers have had remarkable success drafting wide receivers outside of the first round. 

They are starting to make a habit of using day-two selections on this position, which provides great value. 

Chase Claypool was the 49th pick overall. Johnson was selected 66th in a pick they received from the Raiders for Antonio Brown. 

Recently departed James Washington was picked at 60 and Smith-Schuster at 62. Going back a little further in the 2009 and 2010 drafts, the Steelers unearthed some real values in Mike Wallace, Emmanuel Sanders and Brown, of course. Martavis Bryant, the 118th pick in the 2014 draft, also had the makeup of a special football player. 

Pickens, the 52nd pick in this year's draft, has a chance to be next in that line.