George Pickens is ready to be a star for the Pittsburgh Steelers. The second-year wideout is a nightmare to cover and could emerge as a star this season if everything goes right. But is he more talented than Minnesota Vikings superstar Justin Jefferson? I wouldn’t say so. But Ryan Clark would.

Clark, a Pro Bowler and Super Bowl champion with the Steelers turned ESPN analyst, said that Pickens is more talented than Jefferson and explained his rationale.

“George Pickens is much more talented than Justin Jefferson,” Clark declared. “Justin Jefferson understands everything about playing the position…He's a savant…But here's the other thing. Coach Tomlin told me something that I thought was great. He said they didn’t even work to tolerate him and they certainly didn’t try to raise him at Georgia. They didn’t embrace who George Pickens is.”

Clark also said that, through conversations with people like Ike Taylor, one of his former teammates and currently a scout for the Steelers, he came to understand how Pittsburgh loves Pickens' approach and attitude. Dan Orlovsky, a former NFL quarterback, seemed to buy his case as a legitimate possibility.

Honestly, props to Clark for making this point seem somewhat rational. The whole point seems to be that Pickens has not been able to show what he can really do and that the Steelers can help him get there. It's nice to see a take comparing two athletes that doesn’t turn into an insult toss. In fact, some people out there agree with him.

Pittsburgh's track record of developing wide receivers has been impeccable under Tomlin, as just about everyone they draft has turned out to be good, if not a star. Pickens has that special potential.

Reaching Jefferson's level of production will be anything but easy, though. The superstar wideout was just named the second-best player in the entire NFL from the 2022 season and shouldn’t slow down at all. He has everything you would want from a wideout and has put up unreal numbers. Plus, he's still very young and could get even better.

While proving to be at Jefferson's level will be super tough, Pickens doesn’t need to strive for that. He can stick to his own game, which could allow him to emerge as one of the best wideouts in football after a solid rookie campaign.