Now that the 2021 season is over, bringing yet another year of disappointment, a fifth consecutive season with no postseason victories, it’s time to take stock of where the Pittsburgh Steelers stand. Specifically, where Steelers players stand individually based on what we have seen and are seeing over the course of the season and into the offseason as it plays out. We will also be reviewing players based on their previous season and their prospects for the future. A stock evaluation can take a couple of different approaches and I’ll try to make clear my reasoning. In some cases, it will be based on more long-term trends. In other instances, it will be a direct response to something that just happened. Because of this, we can and will see a player more than once over the course of the season as we move forward.
Player: WR Anthony Miller
Stock Value: Up
Reasoning: The veteran second-round wide receiver, now in his first offseason with the Steelers, is competing for a spot on the 53-man roster, and he has his former Chicago quarterback, Mitch Trubisky, along with him. The two reportedly had a good connection during spring drills.
If the Steelers do decide to keep six wide receivers on their 53-man roster this year, they will at least have some experienced candidates to choose from. That includes two veteran outside additions who spent most of last season on their own practice squad, among them Anthony Miller, a former second-round pick of the Houston Texans.
Originally added in mid-October, Miller spent very little time on the active roster as a practice squad escalation, though he did manage to make one catch. Still, the team decided to carry Cody White as their fifth wide receiver for the rest of the year after JuJu Smith-Schuster was injured, even though they had more experienced players like Miller under contract.
How much does that say about his chances of making the team this year? I don’t know, but I know that it’s less than what he does this year will have to say. Miller has reportedly looked good during the spring, especially working with Mitch Trubisky, with whom he played in Chicago.
If you’ve seen pictures of him, he even looked quite ripped. He’s certainly putting in a lot of effort this offseason to try to re-establish himself as an NFL wide receiver after somewhat being left out of the circulation last season, bouncing around to different teams.
Behind Diontae Johnson, Chase Claypool, rookies George Pickens and Calvin Austin III, and return specialist Gunner Olszewski, there is one potential roster spot for a wide receiver, which is not even guaranteed to be filled by one. Miller is as strong a candidate as any remaining, which also includes Miles Boykin, Steven Sims, and White—whose father is now in the front office.
