Chase Claypool: George Pickens will be 'best rookie receiver in NFL'

The early reviews so far on Pickens have been sparkling. The 21-year-old has also made some nice catches at camp on both short routes and deeper ones.

After winning the CFP national title last season at Georgia, Pickens went to the Steelers in the second round of this year’s NFL Draft (No. 52 overall). He should have a clear pathway to snaps this season after JuJu Smith-Schuster, James Washington, and Ray-Ray McCloud (three receivers who combined for 138 total targets in 2021) all left Pittsburgh in free agency.

Pickens will have a lot of work to do though to deliver on Claypool’s claim. He was the 11th receiver selected in the 2022 draft, behind such notable names as the Falcons’ Drake London (No. 8 overall) and the Jets’ Garrett Wilson (No. 10). Nevertheless, Claypool sounds plenty confident in his guy.

Meanwhile, three Steelers quarterbacks (Mitchell Trubisky, Mason Rudolph, and first-round rookie Kenny Pickett) are fighting to win the starting job for a chance to throw to Pickens, Claypool, and the team’s other receivers. We do already have an indication though of who may ultimately be the victor.