Pittsburgh Steelers rookie wide receiver George Pickens grabbed the attention of social media users Thursday night with his highlight-reel catch in the first half of a 29-17 loss at the Cleveland Browns.
He also earned rave reviews from his teammates with his one-handed, 36-yard reception in the first quarter that occurred as he was falling backward.
“That got me pumppppped,” rookie running back Jaylen Warren said in the locker room Monday at UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. “I am like, running down, ‘Oh my goshhhhh!’ I didn’t know it was a catch. You don’t see that often. Definitely, plays like that -– big chunk plays like that -– gets everyone else going and brings the energy up. I like seeing that.”
Tight end Zach Gentry also couldn’t believe what he witnessed from Pickens.
“It was crazy, it was kind of cool,” Gentry said. “I got a different view of it, I was kind of back behind it. It was cool to see like the videos and pictures and slowed-down videos of it. It was really neat, because it happened so fast. When I was behind the play watching it, it just looked like another one-handed grab. Fortunate that we have TVs and replays and stuff so I can see that stuff.”
????????????
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) September 23, 2022
???? #PITvsCLE on @NFLonPrime pic.twitter.com/CHBCksr7Yf
OKAY ROOK WE SEE YOU ????
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) September 23, 2022
(via @steelers)pic.twitter.com/BsI0alS1dt
The leaping, one-handed grab continued to make news rounds Friday morning, drawing comparisons to the Odell Beckham Jr. catch of 2014.
???? @obj is impressed with George Pickens one-handed catch ✋ pic.twitter.com/u0CQRaDDlq
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) September 23, 2022
Analyst Nate Burleson joined NFL Network’s “Good Morning Football” to compare the catch to OBJ’s famed reception and calling Pickens “a beast.”
.@nateburleson reacts to George Pickens’ OBJ-esque catch, previews Packers-Bucs, and remembers his favorite moments from #GMFB in London ???????? pic.twitter.com/FBrb4s0Obm
— Good Morning Football (@gmfb) September 23, 2022
It might only be the third week of the NFL season, but Fox Sports NFL analyst Emmanuel Acho says this catch will be hard to beat.
Not sure you’ll see a better catch than this one by George Pickens all year, at any level. The body control, hands, and vision are out of this world!
— Emmanuel Acho (@EmmanuelAcho) September 23, 2022
pic.twitter.com/7AaQrbBAsg
Former Steeler and current ESPN analyst Ryan Clark thinks Pickens can solve a lot of problems for the Steelers offense.
Oh My Goodness!! George Pickens the answer to all of our Matt Canada woes… Just throw it to him Mitchell; while you have the time. He can save your job for a week… Maybe. He’s gonna make plays for you man, FOR US!!
— Ryan Clark (@Realrclark25) September 23, 2022
According to Next Gen Stats, the play had only a 33.7% completion probability.
Mitchell Trubisky & George Pickens (36-yd reception)
— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) September 23, 2022
???? Air Distance: 45.0 yds
???? Target Separation: 1.1 yds
???? Completion Probability: 33.7%
Pickens: GO on 57% of routes this season, only player over 44% in the NFL (min. 30 routes)#PITvsCLE | @steelers pic.twitter.com/YsjiDxnGm0
Not a lot went well for the Steelers on Thursday night, but Pickens certainly provided a memorable moment.
