The falling, one-handed catch that made George Pickens the talk of social media last Thursday night impressed just above everyone.
Well, everyone but Pickens.
The Pittsburgh Steelers rookie receiver confided after practice Thursday that — even with a week of contemplation — it didn’t register in the top five catches of his career spanning high school, college at Georgia or his few months with the Steelers.
“That’s probably like (number) seven,” Pickens said.
Pickens said he made more impressive receptions in practice and during games at Georgia.
“One of them is on YouTube,” he said.
Pickens downplayed the 36-yard reception against the Browns in which he had the presence to reach back and catch the ball with one hand as he fell toward the sideline.
“I made crazier catches in college,” he said. “When I caught the ball, I figured … I knew I caught it. It was a matter of what the world thought of it.”
The catch was comparable to the one Odell Beckham Jr’s one-handed grab in 2014 against the Dallas Cowboys.
Whose was better?
“OBJ is one of my favorite players,” Pickens said. “Even if I wanted to say it was better, I low-key want to say it was not.”
Beckham recognized the artistry behind Pickens’ grab and drew the comparison on Twitter.
“That means a lot,” Pickens said. “Stuff like that means more to me because he was my favorite player.”
