Georgia football: George Pickens will be a tremendous pick in 2022 Draft

Georgia football has the potential to see 15 players drafted in the upcoming 2022 NFL Draft. One of those guys looking to impress an NFL team enough to pick them is George Pickens, one of the Dawgs four juniors who declared early.

This young man has been on NFL scouts’ radars since he finished high school, so leaving after three seasons, regardless of how much he played, is understandable.

Could Georgia have benefited from him coming back and helping out the offense? Sure, but at the end of the day, it’s about what the player wants to do, and if he liked where he graded out — we wish him luck.

Georgia football George Pickens will be a steal in the 2022 NFL Draft.

The Dawgs picked up Pickens out of Hoover, Ala., and away from the Auburn Tigers during the 2018 recruiting cycle. He was a 5-star wideout and one that every team wanted badly. Pickens took his talents to Athens, and his short time there was impressive.

At 6-3 and 200-pounds, Pickens is a big wideout with great downfield speed, agility, and intelligence. That pass interference he drew in the national championship was his way of coming up big for the Dawgs when they needed to keep the momentum going.

He finished with 90 catches for 1,347 yards and 14 touchdowns during his time at Georgia. As a freshman, he played in all 14 games, recording 49 catches for 727 yards and eight touchdowns. He made 36 catches for 413 yards and six scores as a sophomore.

Then he got hurt last March by tearing his ACL. He appeared in four games, recording five catches for 107 yards but made some big catches in those few targets he got.

George Pickens’ strengths and weaknesses

Pickens’ biggest strength is his gritty toughness. He is strong with a big frame and has incredible body control. His physicality is unmatched and he has a great catch radius. There won’t be many times a defensive back will win unless he commits pass interference.

One of his weaknesses is his health. That injury caused him to be extremely limited in the games he did play in at the end of the season. Pickens could be more versatile, expand into more routes, and sometimes he could get a little crisper on some of his skills.

Pickens is coachable and can continue to grow as a player. Hopefully, he can stay can healthy. However, the guy is going to make some team very happy.

Should George Pickens have declared, and what are the projections?

Some speculate that Pickens staying for another season would only benefit him and add to his resume. We will never know what might have happened if he did choose to come back, but a talent like his is unique, so it was the right choice at the end of the day.

Right now, mock drafts have him as a high second-round pick, and that is the perfect placement for him. If he impacted the playoffs more after the injury, he could have likely been a late first-rounder, but there could be many unknowns about how ready he will be.

One more year would have given him a first-round grade, but a high second-round selection is a great place to be.

Predicting where George Pickens lands in the 2022 NFL Draft

Pickens will likely get picked up at the No. 39 overall pick by the Chicago Bears, which would be the ideal place for him.

They need a big-time wide receiver that has skill sets similar to Pickens so that they could take a risk on him early on in the second round.

There are some other wideouts in the Draft the Bears could like more, but Pickens will make whatever team he lands on very happy. If he can stay healthy, Pickens will have a long career and a successful one at that.

While saying a second-round pick could be a steal in this draft, that truly is the case with Pickens because we know how talented he is but hasn’t gotten to do it in over a year.

Pickens is one of 15 potential Georgia football players who could get drafted in the upcoming 2022 NFL Draft. He has a tremendous amount of potential, and if the Bears need to jump on him, Pickens will be a massive piece of their offense.