In the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers nabbed their hopeful franchise quarterback of the future.
In the second round, Pittsburgh picked Kenny Pickett's potential No. 1 wide receiver of the future.
With the No. 52 overall pick in the draft, the Steelers selected Georgia wide receiver George Pickens in the second round Friday in Las Vegas.
Pittsburgh later picked Texas A&M defensive lineman DeMarvin Leal with the 84th overall selection in the third round.
While Georgia produced a record-setting five defensive players in Thursday's first round, Pickens was the first offensive player off the board for the reigning national champs.
The selection comes just a week after Pickens was a passenger in a car crash in which he was cited for not wearing a seat belt, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport and NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reported. Pickens left with scrapes, but was OK despite his head hitting on the windshield.
During his three seasons, he tallied 90 receptions for 1,347 yards with 14 touchdowns in 26 games.
He's coming off a junior season in which he was limited to just four games due to a torn ACL, but for a Steelers franchise known for finding stellar receiving talent beyond the opening round, Pickens is a first-round talent taken on Day 2.
As of now, the Steelers' depth chart is likely to have Chase Claypool, Anthony Miller and Diontae Johnson as the starting wideouts at Mitchell Trubisky's (and eventually Pickett's) disposal. But if he's healthy, Pickens is likely to change that depth chart relatively quickly.
Pickens burst onto the scene as a freshman and was slowed dramatically by injury, but Pittsburgh might well be the perfect situation for him to blossom into a top-tier wide receiver.
