George Pickens did not take long to score a touchdown in his first professional football game.
In the first quarter of Saturday’s Pittsburgh-Seattle preseason game, Pickens hauled in a 26-yard TD pass from Steelers QB Mason Rudolph. The former Georgia standout showed he’s adjusting well to NFL rules, managing to get both feet down inbounds.
George Pickens is Him. ? @steelers
?: #SEAvsPIT on @NFLNetwork (check local listings)
?: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/cINB23wRfG pic.twitter.com/1bCfMtkPe0— NFL (@NFL) August 13, 2022
Saturday is just preseason, so it won’t go in Pickens’ official NFL stats, but it’s sure to be the first of many touchdowns in his pro career. A recent Steelers depth chart had Pickens with the first-string wideouts.
Pickens was selected by Pittsburgh with the No. 52 overall pick in the second round of the 2022 NFL Draft. He has been a Steelers camp standout, making highlight plays like Saturday’s TD catch that looks plenty familiar to Bulldog fans.
Pickens was at Georgia for 3 seasons. For his college career, he logged 90 catches for 1,347 yards and 14 touchdowns over 26 games.
The bulk of Pickens’ production came in his first 2 seasons. Pickens injured his ACL in spring 2021, and made just 4 appearances during UGA’s 2021 title run, logging 5 catches for 107 yards, including a 52-yarder in the championship game against Alabama.
Correction: The pass was thrown by Mason Rudolph, not Mitch Trubisky.