George Pickens continues to have a breakout rookie season

Former Georgia football standout wide receiver George Pickens gave Steelers fans a glimpse at his star potential in his first big game in the NFL.

Pickens has been making highlight-reel plays since he got to Pittsburgh but has not been able to produce impressive numbers due to the bottom-tier offense the Steelers have been putting on the field.

Georgia fans know firsthand how special Pickens’ talent is and have been waiting to see it unleashed with a better quarterback.

After totaling just five catches for 65 yards through the first three weeks combined, Pickens erupted against the Jets in Week 4, recording six catches for 102 yards. This game was the first of what will likely be many 100-yard receiving performances in Pickens’ career.

George Pickens proves he is having a breakout NFL rookie season.

As expected, Pittsburgh’s wide receivers have fallen victim to poor quarterback play this season. Pickens’ lack of production is much more attributed to that than any fault of his own.

Starting quarterback Mitchell Trubisky completed just 59.5% of his passes for 653 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions through the season’s first three and a half games. Fortunately for Pickens and the rest of the Pittsburgh receiving corps, fellow rookie Kenny Pickett replaced Trubisky in the second half of Week 4.

He has since gotten named the starter moving forward, which is the best-case scenario for Pickens’ outlook for the rest of the season. While he’s just a rookie, the potential is there for him to become the franchise quarterback. His connection with Pickens was already on full display in the two quarters he played versus the Jets.

Pickens made an impressive play on a 50/50 ball and hauled in a ridiculous toe-tapping, back-shoulder grab on the sideline. His rapport with his new signal caller will only grow stronger as the season progresses, and Pickett has much more to offer than Trubisky.

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There will still be growing pains, given the difficulty that rookie quarterbacks often have adjusting to the NFL, but the offense should be more fun and productive all around. Pickens isn’t the top target on the team, but he could be a valuable No. 2 option for the rest of the season.

Pickens’ performance against the Jets earned him the highest rookie wide receiver grade of the week from Pro Football Focus. With competent quarterback play the rest of the year, he could find himself in consideration for the best overall rookie wideout for the entire season.

The Steelers likely won’t win many games, but the Pickett-to-Pickens connection will be a fun one to watch and should provide a preview into what could be in store for the offense in the future.