Steelers WR George Pickens on viral fan reaction to 1-handed catch: ‘Same old, same old’
At some point, fans of the Pittsburgh Steelers and the NFL at large might come to see some of the catches George Pickens makes as routine.
But that time hasn’t come yet, at least as measured by reaction to Pickens’ latest one-handed acrobatic catch. It came over top of Joey Porter Jr. early during Tuesday’s training-camp practice at Saint Vincent College, and it quickly went viral on the internet.
“I didn’t even turn my phone on yesterday,” Pickens said Wednesday. “I saw (everyone’s reaction) this morning when I got on my phone.
“Same old, same old. Kind of like last year.”
Oh my, George Pickens …. SHEESH. ????
(???? @Mazursky8895)
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) August 1, 2023
During his third NFL game Sept. 22 last year, Pickens made a similar catch against the Cleveland Browns on “Thursday Night Football.” That one, too, wowed many who would make hyperbolic statements as it being among the greatest catches they’d ever seen, all while Pickens downplayed it relative to grabs he had been making with a degree of regularity at practice for Georgia and his rookie training camp with the Steelers.
Pickens was similarly less-than-overwhelmed by Tuesday’s catch in practice.
Where does he rank it among the best catches he’s made?
“Ummmm,” Pickens said, contemplating the question. “I probably would say… (ranked) six, five. Probably No. 6 or No. 5.”
When a media member responded that if that was the case, he couldn’t imagine what the top five looks like, Pickens proudly said, “Yeah, you should look in my phone.”
Are you serious, George Pickens? What a one-handed grab!#PITvsCLE on Prime Video
Also available on NFL+ https://t.co/uF4okqrMww pic.twitter.com/4mDGzOOoZu— NFL (@NFL) September 23, 2022
A second-round pick last year, the 22-year-old Pickens had 52 catches for 801 yards and five total touchdowns last season. He said Wednesday that highlight-worthy catches have been routine for him about a decade ago.
“I have been playing football since I was 4, so it became routine when my brother was in high school and I was in middle school and I started catching the high school (sized) balls,” Pickens said, adding that his hands were large even in his pre-teen and early teen years.
“So that kind of really helped me catching a lot.”
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Chris Adamski is a TribLive reporter who has covered primarily the Pittsburgh Steelers since 2014 following two seasons on the Penn State football beat. A Western Pennsylvania native, he joined the Trib in 2012 after spending a decade covering Pittsburgh sports for other outlets. He can be reached at cadamski@triblive.com.
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