Chemistry Building Between Daniels and Pickens

JT Daniels and George Pickens are proving that they could be the top tandem in college football next year.

At the beginning of the year, if you were told that the Georgia Bulldogs would have one of the most exciting quarterback-receiver duos in the country, you would have probably thought of Jamie Newman and George Pickens. Everyone knows that Pickens is uber-talented and can make any play he is asked. In addition, quarterback JT Daniels has all the makings of an elite quarterback with big-time NFL attributes. 

These things can both be true, but to become a great duo, the quarterback and receiver have to establish a relationship of chemistry and trust to truly set the nation on fire. These two have done exactly that.

One of the most important aspects of their success is that they both need each other. What Pickens was able to do with Jake Fromm and Stetson Bennett showed he was still a good receiver but could not break into that next level. By all accounts, Pickens has always had the talent. Still, the reality of playing receiver is that to play your best, much of the responsibility falls on the quarterback, which can't be controlled. Daniels needs a specimen like Pickens, with the keyword being specimen. He played with Amon-Ra St. Brown, Michael Pittman Jr. and others at USC. Everyone he played with at USC should be a top-60 pick in the NFL draft, but none of them hold a candle to Pickens. 

Give Daniels a wide receiver he trusts, and he makes plays downfield. Give Pickens a quarterback willing to throw the ball downfield, and he catches them. 

Daniels is using Pickens in the most effective way possible. He's using him as a security blanket. Take the slant route that ended up going for a touchdown Saturday. Missouri brought pressure and Georgia sent slants both ways. Daniels made up his mind early that Pickens was his best chance to win. He faked the handoff, flipped his hips and fired the ball all in one motion. It was a great ball, Pickens turned up-field and the result was six points.

It's also clear whenever Daniels sees a defensive back one-on-one with Pickens, he taked the shot downfield. Pickens may be the scariest receiver in the entire country when the ball goes into the air for a jump ball. Daniels has consistently placed the ball where it's needed to be. When Daniels took his second deep shot to Pickens, it seemed as if the ball were going to fall to the ground in the end zone. However, after getting by the defensive back, Pickens somehow knew to bend back inside to secure the catch. That is the result of reps and chemistry and is a play that many other quarterback-receiver tandems don't make.

The scariest thing about this pairing is that it seems like they are just getting started. Every week they continuously put a better collective performance on the field than the last. Heading into next year, the aspiration is a national championship. To do that, the Bulldogs need a pair of playmakers to take over the offense in a historic way. It appears that this pairing can be Pickens and Daniels, and if they continue this upward trajectory, defensive backs alike should beware.