The Pittsburgh Steelers‘ WR George Pickens recently made it to the headlines after accidentally spilling the beans on who would lead the Steelers’ attack as their QB in week 7. The 23-year-old so far has had an average performance this season playing alongside young QB Justin Fields for the last six weeks. Given his namesake, fans are wondering if he is the son of the former NFL legend Carl Pickens or not.

Well, guess what? That’s right he indeed is. According to reports, George is the son of the legendary Cincinnati Bengals WR. This must surely be a shocker for many long-time Bengals fans, who saw the 2x Pro Bowl receiver’s game and are now watching his son playing for one of their AFC North rivals.

Seems like young George is on the path of taking Carl’s legacy forward as a WR. George won the CFP Championship in the 2021 season. He was later picked up by Pittsburgh in the 2022 NFL draft. In three seasons for the NFL side, George has featured in 40 games. He has made 141 of 234 receptions with 9 TDs for 2304 rushing yards.

Who is Carl Pickens?

Carl Pickens is a former NFL receiver who played for multiple sides during his decade-long career. In 1989, he started his career as the safety of Tenessee Athletics. Pickens Sr. was named a freshman all-American and all-SEC selection in his debut season. However, later, he switched his on-field position and moved to WR. After an impressive junior performance, he received the College Football All-America Team call-up. Carl joined the Bengals in ’92 as a second-round draft pick.

The ex-WR made his Bengals debut against the Seahawks. In his first season amongst the big boys in the league, Carl played 16 games, recording 26 receptions for 326 yards and 1 TD, and was then named the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year. After just two seasons in the NFL, in 1994, he became the first NFL star to have at least 5 receptions and 1 TD in eight starting games. In his eight seasons at Cincinnati, Carl got two Pro-Ball call-ups and two second-team All-Pro call-ups.

But all good times must come to an end right? It was nothing different in the WR case. Carl parted ways with the Bengals in July 2000 and joined the Tennessee Titans on a year-long deal. This move turned out to be fruitful for the WR as he qualified for the playoffs for the first time in his career. But his stay at Tennessee was short-lived as chose not to extend his stay further. Then the star WR signed for the Dallas Cowboys in 2001. However, just after a month of joining his new side, he announced his retirement. Overall, in his career, Carl made 540 receptions, and 63 TDs for 7129 total rushing yards. Almost two decades later,  last year in 2023, Carl was inducted into the Tenessee Athletics Hall of Fame.

However, retirement hasn’t surely been what Pickens Sr. would have hoped for. Carl was arrested for allegedly assaulting his wife in 2013. Reports suggest that on December 7, 2013, Carl argued with his wife over one of her friends joining them for a movie. As per the Cops, this argument soon escalated and the 2x Pro-Bowler slammed his wife on a couch and pinned her down by the neck. The authorities further mentioned seeing a bruise on her neck after they arrived at the scene. They added that as per the wife, Carl threw various objects around the place before he left the house.