A big emphasis coming into the 2023 season for the Pittsburgh Steelers offensively has been on creating more explosive plays.
So far in training camp, the Steelers seem to be taking more shots down the field in an effort to create those explosive plays.
One player benefiting the most from that increase in deep shots is second-year wide receiver Calvin Austin III.
Austin was able to make some plays on Sunday with the team not in pads, hauling in a 30-yard pass on one play after getting behind the secondary. That play was reminiscent of his big plays throughout camp to date. Friday night at Latrobe Memorial Stadium, Austin had his best practice of camp and is starting to look like a real weapon for the Steelers.
Speaking with Steelers.com’s Mike Prisuta and Craig Wolfley following Sunday’s practice on Training Camp Wrapup from Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, Austin stated that he’s pleased with the progression the offense continues to see when it comes to explosive plays. He added the chemistry offensively is constantly developing, leading to more and more explosive plays overall.
“I think he’s [Kenny Pickett] progressing nice. I think we’re all just coming together. I just feel like we’ve had so many just these three past practices, we have so many more explosive plays down the field and I think it’s just a good cadence to what’s gonna be coming here in the future,” Austin told Prisuta and Wolfley, according to video via Steelers.com. “Getting the ball down the field, trying to get those big plays, you can definitely tell that the chemistry is constantly developing and I think we’re almost there. We have plenty of work to do, but we can definitely feel that those chunk plays are being made.”
That’s quite a welcome development for the Steelers, who were one of the least-explosive offenses in football last season and scored just 18.1 points per game, second-worst in the NFL in 2022.
Austin being healthy and a key part of the offense will only help, but so too will opening up the playbook more for quarterback Kenny Pickett in his second season as the starter. So far in training camp the Steelers have shown that willingness to be aggressive and push the ball down the field. That’s going to be huge for the Steelers moving forward if it’s not just a training camp thing and there’s more of a shift in philosophy for the Black and Gold offensively.
Nobody is asking them to be a shootout-based offense with the likes of the Kansas City Chiefs or Los Angeles Chargers, but more explosion can go a long way. The Steelers are progressing nicely in that area of the game, as Austin stated. There’s more work to be done, but the offense seems to be in a good place in training camp.
