It didn’t take long for George Pickens to show that he can do it against the other guys, too.
After three weeks of looking like a stud in training camp while being covered by his own teammates — many of whom have failed to cover him — the Steelers’ second-round pick lit up the Seahawks secondary in the first preseason action of what has the early signs of a promising NFL career. And he did it against a couple feisty rookie cornerbacks for the Seahawks in fourth-rounder Coby Bryant and fifth-rounder Tariq Woolen, both of whom have been practice standouts in their own right for Seattle.
“It was a lot of fun, just because leading up, he’s been a camp star just like they say me and Coby have been camp stars,” Woolen said postgame. “It was pretty cool going against him.”
Much to the delight of the home crowd, Pickens made the first catch of the day and, later on, the best. His night began with a 9-yard reception against Woolen from Mitch Trubisky on the game’s first play, and his highlight came on a 26-yard touchdown grab from Mason Rudolph late in the first quarter.
On 3rd-and-13, Rudolph looked downfield and had to figure No. 14 was as good an option as any. He lofted one toward the back right corner of the end zone where the Heinz ketchup bottles used to be, and Pickens looked it in while effortlessly tapping both feet down inbounds over the head of Bryant.
“Obviously, he’s a good receiver. I knew that from college,” said Bryant, whose Cincinnati team watched Pickens dominate with seven catches for 135 yards and a touchdown in a loss to Georgia in the 2021 Peach Bowl. “He’s real good down the field — much respect.”
As for the touchdown he allowed, Bryant was in good position and was waving his arms for the back judge to rule Pickens out of bounds, but the tape was clear. There was little the defender could do, which the Steelers hope becomes a theme with Pickens when the real games begin.
Pickens has been fiery at times jawing with teammates in practice, but Bryant called him “pretty quiet” on the field Saturday. He just let his numbers do the talking.
“Great throw, great catch,” Bryant said. “I could get my head around [sooner], but I’ve made those plays tons of times. … At the end of the day, he made a great play.”
It’s too early to assess where Pickens will find himself in the pecking order of rookie receivers this season, but it was just last year that a physical specimen from the SEC put the NFL on notice from the jump — and the Steelers saw it in their own division.
Cincinnati has struck gold with Ja’Marr Chase, whose ball skills are so impressive that quarterback Joe Burrow described his approach to playing with him thusly during last season’s playoff run: “ ‘F’ it, Ja’Marr’s down there somewhere. I’m going to just throw it up to him and he’s going to make a play.”
That’s not quite how Rudolph viewed his touchdown pass, but hey, he and the other quarterbacks are believing what they’re seeing out of Pickens in Latrobe.
“We had a great matchup — one [safety] high, give the guy a chance to make a play on third down. That’s all you can do,” Rudolph said in the locker room. “George and I have built some chemistry in practice. It was good to connect there to build some confidence. He made a great play, got his toes down, and we needed it.”
One of the first Steelers to congratulate Pickens on the sideline was another wideout who made an instant impact as a rookie, Chase Claypool. Coach Mike Tomlin didn’t bother using Pickens in the second half, his work finished with three catches for 43 yards and a score. There also was some physical blocking that won’t show up in the box score, including a seal of the left edge that helped Anthony McFarland scamper 24 yards on the opening series.
Of course, demurred after the game, uttering a simple “no” when asked if he saw anything out of Pickens that surprised him. But what else can he do now? He preaches wanting to see players do what they do in practice when they get “in stadium.” Secret’s out on the new guy, and the Seahawks were the first to see it.
“I’ve been doing it at camp, so it was like a no-brainer to me,” Pickens said. “But for the fans and for the crowd and for the team, it was amazing.
“This is pretty much what I expect. It’s kind of what I was telling [teams] at the combine — the type of player I am, the type of dude I am. Instead of going off the analytics and logistics and stuff like that, I can really play, you know what I mean? I just wanted to show people.”
Welcome to the party
The newest Steeler on defense didn't take long to do what plenty of Pittsburgh pass-rushers have done over the years. Hamilcar Rashed, claimed off waivers from the Jets three days ago, notched a sack in the second half despite having just one practice under his belt.
Tomlin spoke somewhat highly of Rashed and what the Steelers thought of him coming into the 2021 draft, acknowledging that he hoped the defensive end who’s playing outside linebacker here would have a chance to suit up and contribute against the Seahawks.
Rashed has plenty of obstacles in front of him on the depth chart, including Derrek Tuszka and Tuzar Skipper, who had a heads-up fumble recovery in the fourth quarter. But so far, nice start for a 6-foot-2, 251-pounder who racked up 14 sacks during his junior year at Oregon State in 2019.
“I remember when he came out in the draft, he was a guy that had our attention,” Tomlin said Thursday. “He's an outside linebacker body type. I think he had 14 sacks his junior year at Oregon State, and that captured our attention, but it’s a get-to-know process and we’ll be excited about giving him an opportunity to show himself to us.”
Keeping them safe
The Steelers opted to rest many of their regulars, as expected in a preseason opener. Najee Harris, Pat Freiermuth, Diontae Johnson and Claypool were starters who didn’t play. Offensive role players such as Benny Snell, Zach Gentry, Derek Watt and Kevin Dotson were out, too. A couple receivers who have opened eyes in camp missed the game with injuries in rookie fourth-rounder Calvin Austin III and veteran journeyman Anthony Miller.
All the above have missed time in camp due to various minor injuries, and Tomlin noted last week that he’d be cautious with anyone not fully healthy. Austin sustained a foot injury Friday at practice that needs to be evaluated and Tomlin didn’t have many details on his prognosis. Miller has a shoulder injury.
Defensively, the Steelers kept Cam Heyward, Tyson Alualu, Larry Ogunjobi, T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith, Minkah Fitzpatrick, Montravius Adams, Genard Avery and Marcus Allen on the sideline.
“We held a lot of guys out. It created an awesome play opportunity for guys, not only in terms of play-making and so forth but just displaying conditioning and seeing if they're capable of playing with detail as fatigue and so forth sets in.”
Bumps and bruises
In-game injuries were limited, thankfully, but veteran defensive back Karl Joseph — a 2016 first-round pick of the Raiders who’s trying to extend his NFL lifespan by playing strong safety or slot corner here — left the field on a cart early in the game and was quickly ruled out with an ankle injury.
It’s a tough break for Joseph, who looked solid in camp before missing a few days for the birth of his second child. He already had a hill to climb given the team’s depth at safety and slot cornerback. Joseph was in a walking boot after the game but Tomlin said he’s being evaluated.
Elsewhere in the secondary, starting cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon was shaken up with a shoulder injury after making a tackle and safety Damontae Kazee — starting in place of Fitzpatrick — took a trip to the sideline medical tent. Both walked off the field without much trouble and, aside from Joseph, Tomlin called the night “virtually injury-free.”
Acrisure’s maiden voyage
The announced attendance was 48,197 for what was not your typical preseason game. It was the first chance for fans to see Kenny Pickett in-person, the start of a new season without Ben Roethlisberger and the debut of Acrisure Stadium — at least in the sense of its new name.
For reference, last year’s only preseason home game — in which Roethlisberger was expected to start and did — had a crowd of 45,374. But more than 50,000 were in attendance for the second and final home preseason game of 2019.
“I’d just like to thank the fans,” Tomlin said. “They were really into it and we appreciate their presence, creating the type of atmosphere that we desire here, so that was good to get back in front of them.”
Brian Batko: bbatko@post-gazette.com and Twitter @BrianBatko.
First Published: August 14, 2022, 2:16 a.m.
