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Steelers' George Pickens, Joey Porter Jr. Forming Training Camp Rivalry

The Pittsburgh Steelers have an exciting battle going on at training camp.
Noah Strackbein|
Steelers' George Pickens, Joey Porter Jr. Forming Training Camp Rivalry
Steelers' George Pickens, Joey Porter Jr. Forming Training Camp Rivalry

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Pittsburgh Steelers

LATROBE -- The Pittsburgh Steelers have two very bright young players in George Pickens and Joey Porter Jr., and as training camp heats up, the cornerback and wide receiver are starting to duel it out. 

The heated matchup started in Week 1 when Pickens and Porter squared off during a seven-on-seven period with the first team. Pickens put his weight into Porter on a "hank" route and forced the rookie cornerback to the group before turning back for the catch. 

Porter's chain snapped in the play, and the video went viral on Twitter rather quickly. 

That was just the beginning. 

When the pads came on in Week 2, Porter and Pickens lined up against each other in one-on-ones along the sideline. In typical Pickens fashion, the second-year wideout went up and made an unbelievable catch that had the whole crowd going crazy. 

Porter says in the moment, the mindset for a cornerback is "next play." 

"That's all you can say is 'next play.' It was a crazy catch, that's what he does for a living," Porter said on the Pickens play. "I felt like I got him at the line. It was perfect form on my part, but when you've got a freak athlete you're going against, you've got to expect those kind of plays to happen. You just got to brush it off. Next play mentality." 

The young stars matchup is something all Steelers fans were waiting to see in Latrobe. Porter is known for being a physical corner, and Pickens burst onto the scene as a rookie with some of the league's best gameday grabs. 

And this rivalry is only getting started

"They're young guys, both trying to find a place for themselves in this thing and improve daily. And it's a natural thing that they come together and compete against each other," head coach Mike Tomlin said.

So far, Pickens has two catches on Porter at camp. Porter has one interception against Mitch Trubisky, but he was lined up on Cody White. 

For Steelers fans, though, this matchup is going to get better by the day.

"Iron sharpens iron," Porter said. "We had a good little one-on-one, he caught some crazy stuff down there. I don't know how he caught it. It's great. We're always going to talk, but we're teammates at the end of the day. We're just working."

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Noah Strackbein
NOAH STRACKBEIN

Noah Strackbein is a Publisher for On SI, covering the Pittsburgh Steelers since 2019. A Jessup, PA native, Noah attended Point Park University, where he fell in love with the Steel City and everything it has to offer. You can find Noah's work at Steelers On SI and weekdays as the hosts of All Steelers Talk.

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