A new series on Steelers Depot to get us through the offseason. As the title implies, we’re explaining the role of players on the Pittsburgh Steelers’ roster. Beyond just starter, backup, or special teamer, we’re describing what their ideal role and contribution to the team in 2023 will be.
We’ll kick the series off with WR Allen Robinson.
WR Allen Robinson – Underneath Zone Beating Slot Wide Receiver
Of course, we’ll be taking a macro view with all these players while understanding Robinson won’t solely be that. Rarely is one player ever one thing to a team, especially a skill guy.
But Robinson wasn’t added to be a dynamic, downfield threat. He’s going to be the team’s big slot receiver, what Chase Claypool was supposed to be but clearly wasn’t suited for. While Robinson isn’t so much of the outside/vertical type he was early in his career, he can still get open.
According to ESPN’s analytics, Robinson had a 65-score in the site’s “get open” category, good enough to rank tied for 28th in the league. It’s not a tremendous number but a solid one given the strength of the position throughout the league, a better figure than Keenan Allen, Jaylen Waddle, and even teammate Cooper Kupp.
It’s partly because of Robinson’s ability to find the soft spot against zone. He’s a crafty player who attacks defender’s/defense’s leverage and and is able to settle where defense’s aren’t. That’s going to be his role this year. Last year, his ADOT (average depth of target) was the second-lowest of his career while his YAC was his worst in a season but he had the highest QB-target rating in a year, too, coming in at 93.3.
It’ll be similar to TE Pat Freiermuth, though Pittsburgh smartly used him downfield more as a sophomore after really limiting him as a rookie. Robinson won’t be used vertically a ton. He certainly won’t get involved in the jet sweep or flurry of motions in Matt Canada’s offense. That’s stuff Calvin Austin will do. He’ll be like JuJu Smith-Schuster was later in his Steelers’ career. Doing the dirty work, moving the sticks, and it’s a role more suited for him than JuJu, who was quite fine in that role but capable of doing more.
Don’t expect his seasonal stat line to be flashy. It’s not. But he can still have an effective and useful role. If Robinson can finish something similar to 40 receptions for 425 yards and two touchdowns with a high percentage of those grabs moving the sticks, I’ll take it. It’s not going to be enough for him to return next season, not unless he reworks his contract, but it’ll be what Pittsburgh needs in 2023.
