It had been exactly 468 days for the Pittsburgh Steelers to finally see their 2022 fourth-round draft pick, Calvin Austin III, step between the lines of an NFL stadium. The second-year wide receiver, hailing from Memphis University, ensured his debut was memorable, amassing 96 yards from scrimmage and topping the charts in both receiving and rushing yards for the team. With his blistering 4.32 speed, he gives the Steelers offense an element of speed they haven’t had since the likes of Martavis Bryant — all packed into a nimble 5-foot-9 frame.
While Austin’s success primarily stemmed from his game-breaking speed, we’ll delve deeper into the game tape to analyze his performance against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Let’s kick things off with the play that’s got everyone buzzing: that jaw-dropping 67-yard touchdown pass from Mason Rudolph to Austin.
That’s what you’d call “breakneck speed.” Defensive backs are going to realize really fast that they need to get hands-on with Austin throughout the route. Because when he’s left to his own devices? This is what he delivers. Even with the cornerback employing a bail technique right from the snap, he stood zero chance against Austin’s blazing speed.
Something to flag here—and we’ll dive deeper into this in the next clip—is that while Austin’s speed allows him to simply run around defenders with ease, this very technique gets him in trouble in other situations.
The Steelers weren’t afraid to take shots in this game, especially if it was with Austin. Here, QB Mason Rudolph identifies the defense is in Cover One and wants to try and take advantage of the 1v1 coverage on Austin at the top of the screen.
The problem this time? Austin tries again to simply run around the cornerback trying to get his hands on him and ends up boxing himself into the sideline. This setup requires the quarterback to deliver an absolutely flawless throw for even a chance at a completion. It’s reminiscent of the tendencies we saw with James Washington and Chase Claypool running nine routes during their Pittsburgh stints. While Austin’s enhanced burst might let him succeed occasionally with this approach, it’s not a strategy you’d want to overuse. Particularly on deep balls, I’d like to see Austin exhibit more physicality in his routes and be bold enough to employ his hands to fend off and outmaneuver defensive backs.
Austin proved in this very game that he’s more than capable of being physical in his route running and playing through contact. Here’s a case in point: Austin doesn’t just brush off contact and make himself available on his break; he also gets the defense flagged for illegal contact.
Given his speed and agility, I won’t be shocked if Austin keeps racking up those defensive penalties in future games.
Going back to talking about deep shots to Austin here’s the third attempt they had trying to get Austin behind the defense on Friday night. First and foremost, hats off to Austin’s speed—seriously, it’s rare to witness someone chew through an 11-yard cushion and effortlessly outrun a cornerback in a deep third.
On my initial reviews of the play, I felt Austin might have misread the ball’s trajectory, but after a closer examination, I came to value what he was aiming to do, even if he might’ve slightly misjudged it.
When you zoom in and watch the play in slow motion, Austin’s strategy becomes clear. He’s trying to decelerate, box out, and get that last-second push-off for separation at the catch point —a move perfected by legendary WRs like Antonio Brown. The problem is Austin jumps the gun, initiating his move a tad too early. If you look close enough, you’ll notice the cornerback cleverly pins Austin’s arm to his side, preventing him from gaining that needed space. These nuances render Austin out of position to make the catch.
Given Austin’s 5-foot9, 170-pound frame, mastering these tricks is essential for him to emerge as a consistent downfield threat. Even if this play wasn’t a textbook execution, spotting him attempt these maneuvers is a hopeful sign for what’s to come.
There were some other nuances to Austin’s game that genuinely piqued my interest.
First, was his use of the “stair step” technique on the below crossing route He does a great job winning the inside off the line. But instead of merely diving straight into his route, he reverts to a vertical push, coaxing the cornerback to commit upfield before snapping it off inside.
Austin even snaps his head and eyes when he pushes vertically to further accentuate the stair step and try to fool the corner. Great rep.
A lot of people don’t realize that regardless of Austin’s size, he rarely played in the slot while at Memphis. According to Pro Football Focus, he had only 52 snaps in the slot compared to 592 out wide. Therefore, he’s relatively new at working in the middle of the field.
On this rep, from the left side, you can spot Austin darting in on another crossing route, this time sizing up a zone defense. As he navigates, there’s a palpable moment of cognition: he’s about to breach into another zone and starts to throttle down. He doesn’t come to a complete stop, given that he sees QB Mitch Trubisky already releasing the ball. Had Trubisky been afforded a tad more time, I bet Austin would’ve fully anchored down, making himself available for a big catch and run.
For receivers, the cardinal rule when facing zone coverage is to never run into being covered—and Austin clearly seems attuned to that. Again, it’s not a jumping-for-joy moment, but it does underscore Austin’s grasp of the wide receiver role. He consistently demonstrates that he’s ticking all the right boxes.
Let’s pivot to a facet Austin needs to refine. He’s running a straightforward speed out at the top of the screen. However, notice how Austin drifts upfield after his break. While Rudolph’s throw isn’t exactly on the money, Austin’s route only magnifies the issue.
For a side-by-side, take a look at Cody White at the bottom of the screen. When White breaks out it’s flat and to the sidelines.
It might seem like a trivial detail, but it’s precisely these minutiae that can make or break a first-down completion. Austin will have to iron out these kinks to gain and keep the trust of his quarterback and offensive coaches.
“Ball security is job security.” That adage might be particularly relevant for Austin given his build and strength. He had a close call on Friday night. While being tackled, he ended up on top of a defender and the ball slipped out — fortunately for him, it was out of bounds.
While it did occur, I can’t say that I can necessarily critique the way Austin was holding onto the ball as it looks high and tight. Here’s hoping this was just an isolated, unlucky incident and not indicative of a recurring trend.
The last thing we’ll delve into is Austin’s blocking.
No one will be expecting Austin to be a run blocker like Hines Ward or even JuJu Smith-Schuster, but I was curious to see how he fared. There weren’t many run-blocking opportunities, but this one particular instance did stand out in a less-than-flattering light. Rudolph takes off to run and instead of finding work, Austin becomes a spectator.
No one should have to be told to block for your quarterback.
Final rep here, Austin is a bit delayed in his want-to but gets the job done here with a nice block that allows White a chance at getting to the sidelines to stop the clock in the two-minute drill.
Blocking is all want-to; Steelers WRs Coach Frisman Jackson just needs to instill this mindset into these young wide receivers, ensuring they commit to it consistently on the field.
Austin’s career has just begun, yet his debut displayed a wealth of potential. The real test will be his ability to maintain this level of play consistently. It’ll be interesting to see if he can rise to the occasion, especially if he gets to play with the first team, or “varsity” squad, as Coach Mike Tomlin would put it.
