Making Sense of the George Pickens and Calvin Austin Selections
After losing JuJu Smith-Schuster, Ray-Ray McCloud and James Washington in free agency, the Pittsburgh Steelers opted to double-dip at the receiver position during draft weekend.
In the second round, Pittsburgh selected George Pickens from Georgia only to follow that up the next day by selected Calvin Austin from Memphis. Both players offer completely different skill sets. How will they fit into the new look Steelers offense?
The selection of George Pickens was one of the least surprising picks on Day 2 of the NFL Draft, it was merely just a matter of him falling far enough down the board. The Steelers met with him both formally and informally in Indianapolis during the NFL Combine. They sent a plethora of scouts and coaches to his pro day which ended up being a selling point to the Steelers as Pickens was able to prove he was 100% healthy after tearing his right ACL during the spring of 2021.
Wide receiver was arguably the biggest immediate need on the Steelers roster entering the weekend and it was no shock to see them address it early.
Pickens has been in the national spotlight for a long time. During his first ever collegiate game for the Bulldogs, he racked up 78 receiving yards while catching his first career touchdown. Dominating the college football landscape at 18-years-old just isn't something that you see every day, even for eventual NFL Draft prospects.
Pickens was that good from day one and if not for an injury prior to his junior season, he would have had a very good shot to go during the first round of this years draft.
What makes Pickens so talented?
In his words, it's his ability to move like a smaller receiver despite being 6'3. He sums it up perfectly. Pickens profiles as a boundary weapon that can play either the X or Z receiver based on his ability to stretch the field while also being proficient in beating press coverage. He's also spent some time in the slot, 14% of his snaps as a freshman, so there's some added versatility in that regard.
His ability to contribute from so many different alignments and positions is surely something that drew the Steelers brass to being so heavily interested in him.
If you've watched the Pittsburgh Steelers offense the past two seasons, you've noticed the lack of sure-handed playmakers on the roster. The Steelers led the NFL in drops in 2020 and only slightly improved that margin in 2021, finishing 5th. Pickens comes equipped with arguably the most reliable set of hands in the class, dropping only two passes on 142 targets during his career at Georgia, per sports info solutions.
Pickens has a unique feel for tracking the football in the air and he's made several marvelous leaping or diving grabs down the field for splash plays in big games like the College Football Playoff against Cincinnati.
He also has top-notch body control where he's able to seamlessly contort his body different directions in order to win in the air over smaller defensive backs. The Steelers have been desperately searching for a receiver who can win those contested catch battles down the field and Pickens specializes can make an impact there.
Few receivers in the class have as many blocking highlights as Pickens. From hushing opposing sidelines moments before a pancake block to just destroying smaller corners off the line of scrimmage, he brings an element of physicality that will make the position group better.
With his body type and killer mentality, there's nothing stopping Pickens from being an extremely useful asset in the run game moving forward.
Despite running a very bland route tree in college, Pickens has the ability to create space in short areas due to his suddenness and lower body flexibility. Pickens is able to get in and out of his breaks at an efficient rate which will be a real weapon once his route tree fully evolves.
Now, onto Calvin Austin.
The first real surprise of the Steelers draft class came a little bit later, when Pittsburgh decided to select Calvin Austin with their fourth round pick. Unlike Pickens, there weren't as many of the usual public signs of interest throughout the process. The Steelers didn't send a heavy contingent of people from the organization to see his pro day and he wasn't reported to be one of their top 30 visits either.
Frisman Jackson indicated that he met with him during the week of the NFL Combine. Pittsburgh also got a look at him during the Senior Bowl which could have been one of the driving factors behind their interest.
Going into draft weekend, Austin was thought to have a good shot to go on Day 2 of the NFL Draft but when Friday night concluded, he had still yet to hear his name called.
This class was considered weaker up top but there was still a healthy amount of depth leaving tons of quality players, such as Austin still on the board when Day 3 opened. Still, Austin had to wait until pick 138 to be selected with the Steelers compensatory selection.
While they weren't planning on double-dipping at the position, the value was simply too good to pass up.
What makes Austin special is his ability to accelerate quickly and get to his third gear in a hurry. A former track athlete at Memphis, his 4.32 40-yard dash time at the NFL Combine confirmed what we already knew, that he was freaky fast. He tested above the 85th percentile in the 10-yard split, vertical jump, broad jump and the 20-yard shuttle. Austin is a great athlete for the position and all of those numbers match what you've seen on tape at Memphis over the two seasons.
For a Steelers offense that was dead last in terms of creating explosive plays through the air last season, Austin's speed is just what the doctor ordered.
Despite measuring in under 5'8", Austin aligned primarily out wide for the Tigers offense last season. He was on the field for 412 passing plays but only in the slot for 39 of them of them, per PFF.
Most receivers of his stature can't hang on the boundary because they get swallowed up easily by bigger cornerbacks who overpower them with their physicality. Austin, however, is a different breed. He's actually a rather refined player against press coverage and has shown the ability to use his quick footwork and detailed release package to win at the line of scrimmage.
While it's encouraging that Austin won't be completely negated by press corners in the NFL, it's a reasonable expectation that he'll do most of his damage in the slot at the next level. Austin is one of those playmakers that is a threat to take it to the house every time he touches the football. Those underneath slants, whips and drags can turn into explosive plays without the quarterback having to do much work beforehand. Austin can also be a factor as a runner as he possesses plus vision to destroy angles as a ball carrier and is elusive in the open field.
If you watched the receivers 1-on-1s at the Senior Bowl in Mobile, you saw how difficult it is to cover Austin in man coverage. He's a detail oriented route runner who understands how to manipulate leverage and uses head fakes to fool cornerbacks.
Austin's explosiveness in and out of his breaks to run away from defenders is incredibly impressive. While he didn't run an extremely diverse route tree at Memphis, there's plenty of optimism regarding his ability to adjust quickly at the next level.
Pittsburgh was able to completely makeover their receiver room during draft weekend by letting the board fall perfectly to them and taking advantage of value. While Pickens and Austin have two distinctly different skill sets, they both offer the Steelers versatility and traits that they were lacking last season. Both players will push for playing time from day one and should be core parts of their offense moving forward.
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