Steelers 2-a-days: George Pickens bound for stardom? David Perales NFL-worthy pass rusher?

Editor’s note: From the end of minicamp through the day the team reports to training camp at Saint Vincent College, the Trib will be running through the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 90-man roster, assessing each player’s outlook for the 2023 season. The breakdown will go through the roster in mostly alphabetical order, (at least) two per day, between June 16 and July 26. Contract data courtesy spotrac.com.

OLB DAVID PERALES

Experience: Rookie

Contract status: $755,000 cap hit if he makes the team in 2023

2023 outlook: Perales finished seventh in the country in sacks last season with 11 ½ for Fresno State. According to Pro Football Focus, only 15 players among the FBS’ 133 schools had more pass-rush pressures (51) in 2022. Perales also was not completely unfamiliar in coverage (he even had an interception last season). All in all, it’s easy to see why the Steelers believed Perales was worth a flier as an undrafted free agent.

Perales (6-3, 255) blossomed his final three college seasons in the Mountain West after playing a season each at the junior college and FCS levels. In 2020 for Fresno State, he led the conference in forced fumbles (four). In 2021, he had 13 ½ tackles for loss and three forced fumbles and was second team all-MWC. In 2022, he had 16 TFL and was all conference.

Perales wasn’t invited to the combine, and he didn’t test as well as some of his peers in combine-style drills. But he was productive enough in college that it is worth seeing if he can cut it in NFL practices and preseason games. If so, he’s a very worthy practice-squad player in 2023.

It was more than a decade ago that Mike Tomlin dipped deep into his motivational bag of verbal maxims to deliver a facetious barb at a young wide receiver who’d been raising eyebrows across the NFL with his propensity for big plays. https://t.co/w5VIPsto11

— Tribune-Review Sports (@TribSports) June 25, 2023

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WR GEORGE PICKENS

Experience: 2nd season

Contract status: $2.58 million cap hit in 2023, signed through 2025

2023 outlook: If Pickens takes that renowned “second-year jump” that Mike Tomlin loves to talk about, look out. As a rookie last season, Pickens finished eighth in the NFL in yards per catch (15.4) and fourth among rookies with 52 catches. Only six receivers in the league had a deeper average depth per target (14.5 yards down the field) and only one (the Buffalo Bills’ Gabe Davis) had more average yards before his catches (13.4).

The eye test was even more fun – Pickens wowed onlookers at Saint Vincent College during training camp and national television audiences during the regular season alike with his acrobatic catches. A quantitative analysis by ESPN and FiveThirtyEight.com rated Pickens as the best wide receiver or tight end in the entire NFL at “making the catch.” While Pickens’ ability to get open can be questioned, he might already be the best in the league at making himself “open” at almost any given moment because of his catch radius and skills at “combat catches.”

Pickens’ big-play ability is well-noted. Can he develop further into an all-around legitimate No. 1 WR? The Steelers have Diontae Johnson – signed through 2024 – as their WR1. Few in the world are better at getting open than Johnson, but Johnson lacked big plays in 2022 (no touchdowns) and his hands are questionable.

Pickens has enough raw natural talent to be a superstar. It will be interesting to see if he can rack up the stats in the Steelers’ offense in 2023.

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