The Pittsburgh Steelers busy free agency included the signing of wide receiver Allen Robinson II. Today I wanted to provide some data context to what he provided last season as a run blocker following my receiving article on him, along with Pittsburgh’s 2022 primary wide receivers as well. Let’s get right to it, starting with run block snaps (minimum of 150) and PFF run block grade:
For starters, we see Robinson had the fewest 188 run block snaps of the highlighted players, which that tied for 79th out of the 96 qualifying wide receivers in 2022, with his season cut short (10 games) due to a foot injury that required surgery. In his opportunities, Robinson posted the strongest 68.9 PFF run block grade of the focused players, which ranked ninth in the entire NFL last season.
This would be huge If he is able to provide a similar impact this season for the black and gold, especially considering the issues Pittsburgh had with run blocking from the slot position in 2022. As an example, Gunner Olszewski showed willingness and effort, but his size not always putting him in ideal situations to be successful. Here’s to hoping Robinson will fit well as an all-around receiver with size and provide more in the slot where many of his opportunities are projected to come as WR3.
The results were much different than I expected for the top Steelers receivers last season, starting with Diontae Johnson, the only player in our sights above average in both data points. He had 376 run-block snaps, which was 12th most, and a 63.5 PFF run block grade that ranked 14th. Considering most would agree this is not the first facet of the game when thinking of Johnson’s greatest strengths, I did some digging to see if I could find out more about how PFF grades a wide receiver in run blocking.
Come to find out, I learned something very important. Per PFF:
“If a receiver is far enough from a run play that their block has no effect on the play, they are not given a PFF run-blocking grade. For example, if an offense runs power, a concept designed to hit between the guard and tackle, and goes for three yards, then whatever the receiver did as a blocker didn’t matter and they don’t receive a grade.”
This is very important context, and whether or not we agree in this aspect of their grading, it does shed light on strong quality in PFF’s eyes from Johnson on runs to his area. That is an aspect last season that deserves props, and hopefully he can continue to provide in 2023.
On the other side of the coin is George Pickens, who ended up on many highlight reels and has a reputation as a strong run blocker. He was the only player through Steelers lenses who landed below the mean in both data points though, slightly below average with 260 run-block snaps (41st), and a much lower than expected 48.3 run block grade that tied for 68th. With PFF’s grading in mind, more consistent blocking on runs to his area should be an area of focus for Pickens this season, with his overall skills leaving me optimistic he can do just that.
I would be remiss if I didn’t reach out to our own Tyler Wise on the subject, considering he has a close eye on the position room throughout the season, and also considering the lack of public data leaguewide on wide receiver blocking to cross reference for more context. From an overall perspective, he stated that Pickens was generally good his rookie year but had reps where he quit too soon or tried to go for the knockout shot and missed, and Johnson gets in people’s way sometimes, but definitely not his game.
Overall, the outlook for the wide receiver room looks to be set up for improvement, in my opinion, in terms of run blocking with all things considered. Robinson’s addition is welcomed in multiple regards including this facet of the game, and a likely upgrade in the slot where he is projected to play substantial snaps. Would definitely like to see Johnson’s effort be more consistent in totality but he fared well in PFF’s eyes when run blocks mattered most.
Pickens is obviously a very capable run blocker, but as his PFF run block grade helps me highlight, he made several of his highlight blocks away from the play that were therefore less impactful. He had some whiffs and effort issues at times, as Wise shared, but not concerning with his rookie year under his belt. Expect him to be wiser and be even better in year two. Here’s to hoping the position room can trend positively as run blockers in 2023 for the black and gold, which I’m optimistic can happen overall. Can’t wait to see how it all pans out.
What are your thoughts on the data and the position group for the 2023 season? Thanks for reading and let me know your thoughts in the comments.
