Georgia Football Monster Squad: The Invisible Man, George Pickens

George Pickens has been The Invisible Man for Georgia football’s offense.

There were high expectations for George Pickens coming into this season. Pickens was coming off a season where he caught 48 passes for 727 yards, an average of 14.4 yards per catch, and he caught eight touchdowns. Pickens also caught 30 first downs and averaged 9.58 yards per target. He was one of Georgia football’s best weapons and the expectation was that he would be even better this season.

Four games into the season Pickens has caught just 13 passes for 140 yards, an average of 10.8 yards per catch, and two touchdowns. He has also caught six first downs and is averaging 6.09 yards per target. His production is way down from where it was at the end of last season. Last year Pickens also had a slow start to the season, so there is no reason to panic, yet.

Also, there could be a good explanation for his slow start this season.

Pickens has been dealing with an upper-body injury Pickens has been dealing with, according to Jake Rowe of Dawgs247.

"Let’s start with injuries where I’m told that sophomore wide receiver George Pickens is dinged up right now. A well-placed source says it’s an upper-body injury and he’s practicing in a black, non-contact jersey right now. It’s clearly not serious but it’s something worth monitoring as the week goes on. If Pickens is unable to go or is limited in the Kentucky game, that would mean a sharp uptick in snaps for Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint, a freshman out of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla."

It is unclear when or how Pickens got dinged up, but hopefully, he is back to being his dominant self sooner rather than later. Georgia football will need him as the season moves on and the Bulldogs try to make a College Football Playoff push.  Pickens needs to be a threat so that opposing defenses can’t hone in on Kearis Jackson. Alabama showed that teams can take away Jackson if they don’t have to worry about Pickens.

Expect Pickens to be available against Florida if he doesn’t play very much against Kentucky. Hopefully, the rest will help him reappear on the football field and once again strike fear into opposing defenses. Georgia football’s offense would become a real force to be reckoned with if Pickens could recapture his 2019 form.

In order to take down teams like Alabama, Ohio State, and Clemson, Georgia will need all of its cylinders firing on offense. That means Pickens will have to be playing at an elite level. Here is hoping that he heals up quickly and gets back to feasting on defensive backs soon. Georgia can’t afford for Pickens to be The Invisible Man any longer.