George Pickens is leaning into the memes. Literally. After the viral moment of his “draft pose,” standing and leaning next to his television as his name was called in the second round, Pickens recreated the moment after a go-kart race Thursday.
As shared by the G.O.A.T Farm Sports Twitter/X account, Pickens stares into the screen to see his placement.
As we wrote earlier, and more importantly for Steelers’ fans, Pickens is in El Paso, Texas working out with several NFL players. That includes QB Justin Fields, who threw warmup passes to him earlier in the day.
A first round talent who fell to Day 2 due to an ACL tear that limited most of his 2021 season at Georgia, George Pickens fell to the Steelers with the 52nd overall pick. Wearing a T-shirt, pants, and a balaclava mask, Pickens took the Internet by storm by nodding along to hearing his name announced as the pick was made official on television during the 2022 NFL Draft.
He was dubbed “NFL Youngboy,” though late in his rookie year, he said he wanted to go by “GP” instead.
Pickens broke out in 2023. Despite rough quarterback play, he still led the team in receptions, yards, and tied Diontae Johnson for the team-lead in touchdowns. His season was full of ups-and-downs but he improved his route tree, greatly bettered his YAC, and showed unselfish play late in the season. Pickens recorded his first 1,000-yard season, going over the 1,100-yard mark, and became the first Steeler since Mike Wallace to lead the league in yards per catch.
With more stable quarterback play and another year under his belt, Pickens will look to best last year’s numbers. If he does, he could earn a hefty payday next summer. That’ll get him a go-kart to do laps around the rest of the field.
It’s been a busy day of training news and offseason spotting for current Steelers. In addition to Pickens and Fields, QB Russell Wilson and RB Najee Harris have also spent time training together on UCLA’s campus. OL Masterminds also begins this weekend. The place for any NFL offensive lineman or o-line enthusiast, the event is hosted by trainer Duke Manyweather, Brian Baldinger, and others. We’ll see if any Steelers are in attendance. Based on a comment made by Baldinger in one of his videos, it’s possible OG Nate Herbig will attend.
