The hope is that if a team takes a quarterback and wide receiver with their first two picks in the draft, the duo will click.
Watching Kenny Pickett and George Pickens on the field, it's obvious that there is a connection between the two:
George Pickens SNAGGED this ball π pic.twitter.com/qKg3I9Cnhy
β NFL Rookie Watch (@NFLRookieWatxh) November 21, 2022
"Heβs the best athlete probably that Iβve played with," Pickett said Wednesday. "Just the freak things that he does, the catches he makes that are so nonchalant to him. But, I look around and Iβm like, βIβve never seen that before in my life.β Heβs a unique guy that can do a lot of great things.
"Weβve just gotta continue to get him the football."
Pickens' potential is immense and has been apparent often this season, mostly since Pickett has taken over at quarterback halfway through Week 4. After being targeted just 13 times for 65 through the first three games with Mitch Trubisky at quarterback, Pickens has become more involved in the offense after the shift to Pickett, hauling in 23 of the 33 targets the rookie quarterback has thrown to him.
And as Pickett's development has been a major talking point this year, his path forward for the rest of the season does appear to let up a bit:
Good news for Zach Wilson (or for whoever will play QB going forward): The Jets have the easiest schedule of pass defenses left pic.twitter.com/hdhdWe5Axo
β Timo Riske (@PFF_Moo) November 22, 2022
That could be an opportunity for more Pickett-to-Pickens targets, especially deep, where Pickett has been inconsistent early.
Not that Pickens is only a deep threat.
"Heβs a great receiver," Pickett said. "We talk all the time about how heβs evolving into a complete receiver and doing more things, running different routes and having a full route tree that corners have to deal with. You become a lot tougher to cover when you have all the different ways you can go and youβre not just a deep ball threat, which heβs not. He does a lot of great things for us in the intermediate level. I think as his game continues to grow, weβll continue to grow as an offense."