One of the marquee matchups to watch during the Week 2 game between the Denver Broncos and Pittsburgh Steelers is the battle that will take place between wide receiver George Pickens and cornerback Patrick Surtain II.
One would assume that Pickens will be seeing a lot of Surtain, who recently landed himself a massive four-year, $96 million contract extension that made him the highest-paid defensive back in NFL history.
When asked about the Broncos’ game plan for him and if he thinks Surtain will shadow him on Sunday, Pickens made it clear he isn’t worried about it.
“Just hope they have their plan correct,” Pickens said, according to Brian Batko of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “I don’t really know or care what they’re gonna do.”
Pickens went on to praise Surtain and recalled facing him when Pickens was at Georgia and Surtain II was at Alabama. He added that going up against talented players is nothing new for him.
“Just be myself, to be honest. I went up against Pat Surtain in college. So a lot of this stuff isn’t new for me. … He’s just a good player. … I’m a good player. There’s a lot of good players around the league.”
Pickens and the Steelers got their season off on the right foot with an 18-10 win over the Atlanta Falcons that saw Pickens tally six catches for a team-high 85 yards.
The Broncos on the other hand, didn’t have the same success, as Denver dropped its season-opening contest to the Seattle Seahawks, 26-20. Surtain gave up three receptions on five targets for 39 yards in the losing effort.