November 27, 2024

Steelers take George Pickens in 2022 NFL Draft: Fantasy Football and Dynasty outlooks, scouting report, more

Pickens #Pickens

George Pickens landed with the Pittsburgh Steelers with the 52nd overall in the 2022 NFL Draft. Pickens joins Diontae Johnson and Chase Claypool, which could make things tough early but Pickens has as much upside as either of them.

Pickens’ upside is evident in his highlight reel. The lanky speedster consistently makes the types of plays that offensive coordinators and quarterbacks alike dream of. His height and his speed combine to make him a lethal threat down the field and in the red zone. The fact that he produced so immediately as a 19-year-old in the SEC tells you just how special he’s always been as a prospect.

Pickens’ floor shows up in everything else. That long frame shows the potential to put on size, but as things stand right now, he may not be strong enough to battle NFL corners or safeties. And that 19-year-old season was the best of Pickens’ college career. The fact that he recovered from a torn ACL in time to play four games in 2021 is impressive, but he also didn’t produce like the same player after that.

Pickens profile and upside could be enough for a team to reach into Round 1 for him, but just don’t take that to mean that he suddenly has become a safe prospect. At the same time, if he somehow falls into Round 3, don’t let that discourage you about his upside.

Age as of Week 1: 21 | Height: 6-3 | Weight: 195 | 40 time: 4.47

Comparable body-type: Robby Anderson with longer arms

Fantasy outlook 

The fit in Pittsburgh, at least from a redraft perspective, is a tough one. Pickens will have to battle Johnson, Claypool, Najee Harris, and Pat Freiermuth and he will likely play with a below average quarterback in either Mitchell Trubisky or rookie Kenny Pickett. If Pickens can displace Claypool as the No. 2 wide receiver in the offense he could have flex appeal in the second half of the season. That’s probably not worth a draft pick in a standard-sized league.

Dynasty outlook

Pickens has the long-term upside of a top-12 Dynasty and redraft wide receiver, and this move doesn’t harm that. If he hits his ceiling, neither Claypool or Johnson will get in the way of his target share. And he has a chance to grow with a rookie quarterback in Kenny Pickett. Initially, Pickett comes in as a borderline WR3 in Dynasty leagues, worth a pick around pick 12 in rookie-only drafts. I prefer him to first-round pick Jahan Dotson.

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Scouting report Strengths

  • Pickens’ height/speed combination alone gives him a projectability many receivers in this class just don’t have.
  • His catch radius is enormous, even bigger than his measurables might suggest.
  • His quick recovery from ACL surgery indicates a work ethic he’ll need to fine tune his game.
  • While his body strength needs some work, his hand strength is unquestionable.
  • Concerns

  • Pickens would disappear for long stretches. He was held below 50 yards in half of his college games.
  • He has a hard time getting off the line against press coverage.
  • There’s not enough of him to box out in the red zone.
  • His route running and technique needs to improve if he’s going to win consistently as a No. 1 option.
  • He never earned better than an 18% target share in any season.
  • Stats breakdown

    G

    REC

    YDS

    AVG

    TD

    2021

    4

    5

    107

    21.4

    0

    2020

    8

    36

    513

    14.3

    6

    2019

    12

    49

    727

    14.8

    8

    Total

    24

    90

    1,347

    15.0

    14 Advanced stats to know

  • 32.3% — Nearly a third of George Pickens’ total receiving yards in college came in three games against Missouri, Baylor, and Cincinnati.
  • 18.9% — Pickens Dominator score on playerprofiler ranks in the 19th percentile.
  • NFL comparison

    It’s hard to find a perfect comp because of Pickens’ size/speed combination and lack of production. But Robby Anderson seems good for an expectation, at least. We saw Anderson as a pure deep threat early in his career and a boom-or-bust Fantasy option. He earned more volume as time went on, but he never quite hit the ceiling he could have. Pickens has more upside than Anderson certainly, but there’s no guarantee he’ll hit it.

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