Now that the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 2023 season is getting underway after the team finished above .500 but failing to make the postseason last year, we turn our attention to the next chapter of Steelers football and everything that entails. One thing that it means is that some stock evaluations are going to start taking on more specific contexts as we get into the season, reflecting more immediate plusses and minus rather than trends over long periods. The nature of the evaluation, whether short-term or long-term, will be noted in the reasoning section below.
Player: WR Gunner Olszewski
Stock Value: Up
Reasoning: The beleaguered wide receiver should not only get a helmet on Sunday but also an opportunity to contribute. With both Diontae Johnson and kick returner Anthony McFarland Jr. unavailable for tomorrow’s game, Olszewski could contribute both on special teams and on offense as a secondary slot option.
Every door that closes for one person is a window of opportunity for another. Gunner Olszewski has a chance to star the process of redemption tomorrow night in his first real opportunity to have a meaningful role in a while.
Originally signed as a return specialist a year ago, he got himself benched within a few games due to ball security issues while not making an impact. But he is counting on that being just a string of bad luck—after all, he was an All-Pro return man in 2020.
The Steelers gave RB Anthony McFarland Jr. the kick returner job this season, and he did pretty well with it a week ago, but he has already been ruled out for the game against Cleveland due to a knee injury. Olszewski is the second-team kick returner (and punt returner, so you do the math.
On top of that, with Diontae Johnson likely to miss a few weeks with a hamstring injury, there could be a role for him on offense as well. While Calvin Austin III will be the primary beneficiary of those missing snaps, Olszewski should absorb some slot snaps as well in a rotation with Allen Robinson II, or while Robinson is playing on the outside.
Granted, it’s a limited opportunity. Even if he impresses during the game, it probably wouldn’t be enough for him to win his job back. For one thing, they would need to find a way to regularly dress him once Johnson and McFarland are back. He was inactive in the first game of the season.
But you never know. If he shows he can offer splash, good decision-making, and ball security, why not? It’s not as though they currently have any other great, proven, reliable options on the roster. The only problem would be, as mentioned, consistently dressing him without limiting the gameday roster elsewhere.
