If there’s one player on the Pittsburgh Steelers’ offense we’ve heard nothing but buzz about during the spring, it’s WR Calvin Austin III. That’s partially due to seeing hardly anything from him. Injured two weeks into training camp as a rookie, Austin missed his entire rookie year.
Now healthy and practicing in full, he’s caught the attention of his teammates. First, it was CB Patrick Peterson getting a taste of his speed. Now, RB Najee Harris strongly hints that Austin will be a serious weapon in the Steelers’ offense.
“We’ve got Calvin back,” Harris said via Steelers.com. “I think I’m excited about that. Calvin’s a kind of a unicorn you could put in really anywhere. Put in the backfield, the slot, everywhere. I think he’s gonna be featured a lot. He’s gonna put a lot of pressure on defenses that’ll help out all of us. Just seeing him line up any everywhere.”
In context, it’s the spring and small and fast players like Austin typically look better in these environments compared to when the pads come on. Still, he’s reportedly made plays, and he flashed in camp last year before suffering a foot injury, burning cornerbacks for long touchdowns while making some combat grabs over the middle.
While we aren’t at camp and reporting specifics are generally frowned upon, Harris seems to be mentioning where Austin has worked this spring. It sounds like Austin won’t just be used as a wide receiver but in the backfield, too. Using him on OC Matt Canada’s jet sweeps would come as little surprise. He’s a strong fit for it, but perhaps the team will even align him like a running back. It’s a quick and easy way to get him out in space on flares and swings and screens.
Mixing up not only personnel, which the Steelers are equipped to do, but formations will be key under Canada, who is entering a make-or-break season. Pittsburgh needs to improve its explosive play numbers and points per game and average at least a field goal more per game in 2023. More than that would be better, of course.
Though Austin is hyped and there’s reason to be excited about that, the next milestone will be playing in his first NFL game. That’ll come in less than two months, August 11t in the preseason opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Austin’s performance there will help determine his role and though he won’t be an every-down player, the Steelers intend to utilize every bit of his skill set.
