The Kansas City Chiefs met with a receiver prospect who is getting some late first-round buzz at the 2022 NFL Scouting Combine.
Georgia WR George Pickens told reporters that he met with the Chiefs, New York Jets, Jacksonville Jaguars, San Francisco 49ers and Green Bay Packers. He didn’t specify whether the interviews were formal or informal, but it’s important to remember that teams meet with most players in some capacity at the 2022 NFL Scouting Combine.
Asked about his meetings with teams, Pickens explained why NFL teams might be interested in what he brings to the table.
“I bring to the game a few attributes a few other guys don’t have — size, speed,” Pickens said. “And they just really want to know how you can develop in their system.”
In 2021, Pickens had a modest season while coming off a spring injury. The 6-3 and 200-pound receiver caught just five passes for 107 yards in four games played, with two of those games coming in the college football playoffs.
“I’m very healthy right now,” Pickens said. “With me coming back playing the last four games, trust and really preparing is no longer a problem.”
Pickens suffered an ACL injury in a non-contact drill in March of 2021. He returned to action in the Georgia Tech game, but he said he didn’t feel 100% until the SEC championship game against Alabama. Now, feeling fully healthy, Pickens is out to show people his speed at the 2022 NFL Scouting Combine. He expects to showcase his wheels in the 40-yard dash and perhaps run a time that many aren’t expecting from him.
“Yeah, 4.3-4.4, People don’t really know that,” Pickens said. “Like, me just saying that number, people are like, ‘Whoa.'”
Whether Pickens can hit those numbers remains to be seen, but he’s clearly confident and has a lot to gain or lose with his performance in Indianapolis. He feels that the injury set him back in terms of his draft status, but he’s confident that he can regain ground in the eyes of NFL decision-makers.
“Yeah, I feel like it set me back in other teams’ minds, because everybody knows how serious the ACL is,” Pickens said. “Odell (Beckham Jr.) had it. It’s a really critical part of the body. But in terms of me personally, it didn’t set me back at all. I still have a first-round mentality.”
