Vikings Draft Profile: WR George Pickens, Georgia
Tom Gorski
|
Name: George Pickens
Height: 6-3
Weight: 200 lbs
Class: Junior
Position: Wide Receiver
College: Georgia
Hometown: Hoover, Alabama
High School: Hoover High School
NFL Comparison: Mike Williams
Personal Info: George Pickens plays wide receiver for the Georgia Bulldogs and will be eligible for the 2022 NFL Draft. Pickens is from Hoover, Alabama, where he attended Hoover High School. He is undecided on his major and was a recipient of the AJ Green Family Football Scholarship at Georgia.
Pickens was once the consensus top receiver in the 2022 NFL Draft, but unfortunately, he tore his ACL last spring during practice. The injury led Pickens to be limited in 2022 and miss nearly the entire 2021-22 season.
High School: Pickens didn’t start playing high school football until his senior year at Hoover High School. He finished the season with 69 receptions, 1,368 yards, and 16 touchdowns to go with, averaging 13 yards per reception. Pickens was selected to participate in the 2019 Under Armor All-American Game that included multiple future NFL prospects.
He was initially committed to play college football for Auburn University, but he ended up changing his mind and later on committed to play the Georgia Bulldogs instead. ESPN.com viewed Pickens as a four-star prospect that ranked as the #54 prospect nationally, #5 prospect in Alabama, and the #6 overall at his position in the country.
College: Pickens made an immediate impact for the Georgia Bulldogs. He finished his freshman season with 49 receptions, 727 yards, and eight touchdowns in 12 games. In the Sugar Bowl, Pickens had 12 catches for 175 yards and a TD, earning MVP honors, and his 12 receptions tied a Georgia bowl record.
They were the most by a Georgia Bulldog receiver in 17 seasons. His production fell off a bit in 2020 as he finished with only 36 receptions, 513 yards, and six touchdowns which is likely due to the departure of Jake Fromm, who was selected by the Buffalo Bills in the 2020 NFL Draft.
This past season, Pickens was recovering from an ACL tear he suffered during practice last March. He was limited but appeared in four games his season and finished with five receptions, 107 yards to go along with 21.4 yards per reception. Two of the games he appeared in were during the College Football Playoffs.
Strengths: Pickens brings a lot of length to his game which is key for any receiver looking to make it at the next level. He shows a lot of balance on tape and shows with his well-balanced toe-drags near the sideline. Unlike many inexperienced receivers at the college level, Pickens has perfected the toe drag that will be mandatory at the next level.
His biggest strength has to be his ability to come down with the 50/50 ball, and he uses his height to his advantage and is quite similar to a basketball player going up for a rebound. While running the fly route down the sidelines, Pickens has shown his ability to create separation consistently and make the big-time play.
Weaknesses: Pickens needs to sell his routes more. His route running is suspect which could make transitioning to the next level even more challenging. Over the past few seasons, past rookie success has come from their route running ability compared to their god-gifted talent. Pickens will need to clean up his route running before heading to the next level, and he doesn’t have quite enough burst to his game overall.
He will need to create more separation throughout the middle of the field and not just the sidelines. Pickens relies too much on his size and coming down with the 50/50 contested ball instead of becoming a complete receiver who can shake and bake opposing defensive backs. If he doesn’t adjust, he will learn the hard way going up against lengthy defensive backs who can match up with him on the outside, similar to Laquon Treadwell.
Evaluation: George Pickens has the traits to become a very reliable #2 receiver for most NFL organizations at the next level. He has a lot of flaws to his game, but a majority of them can be addressed with the proper coaching. Pickens will need to be selected by an organization where he isn’t expected to produce right away.
He comes across more as a project and is far from being a complete receiver that can be reliable on an every game basis. Pickens should be viewed as a second-round talent, and he could slip to the early third round if teams are uncertain if he can return to his past form.
Minnesota would be an ideal fit for Pickens, considering he could eventually be the heir apparent to Adam Thielen potentially. Kevin O’Connell runs an 11 Personnel offense with three wide receiver sets, so Minnesota will be potentially searching for more weapons across the field. Due to his recent injury, he can take his time to fully recover, and he won’t be forced to start or make a significant impact for Minnesota in 2022.
Vikings Territory Also Read: Kellen Mond Finds a New Team
You must be logged in to post a comment.