Almost a week out from the season opener, the Pittsburgh Steelers and their fans are still licking their theoretical wounds left from the domination of the San Francisco 49ers. However, the Niners game left some literal physical wounds in its wake that Pittsburgh will need to account for. One of those was their number-one wideout Diontae Johnson going down with a hamstring injury early in the second half. It’s since been reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter, that Johnson will be missing “a few weeks.”
Enter second-year “rookie” WR Calvin Austin III to fill his shoes. Standing at 5-foot-8 and a buck-seventy soaking wet, Austin is far from an imposing stature. Some may have pigeon-holed for the slot position, but he’s more than capable of playing outside and will fill in nicely for Johnson.
While his Week One performance wasn’t earth-shattering, with six catches for 37 yards, he still earned recognition. Pro Football Focus rated him as the second-best player on Pittsburgh’s offense with a commendable 70.5 overall grade.
Let’s take a closer look at his tape.
The number one thing that stood out on Austin’s tape was his ability to make people miss and fall forward. According to PFF, he forced four missed tackles. Just on the three examples below, I account for 11 extra yards here that are created by Austin.
He has a similar slippery, joystick style of running with the ball in his hands as Johnson, but I appreciate that Austin has a tendency to always finish his runs by falling forward.
I’d expect Austin’s usage on manufactured touches like screens will only increase in Johnson’s absence and he performed well in that area against San Francisco.
Looking at Austin’s route running, it’s no easy feat to make a defensive back fall while running a drag route, but Austin added that to his resume Sunday. The Steelers are running a form of the mesh concept with Austin and George Pickens. Austin uses a rocker step at the top of his route and it brings the 49er to the ground.
Unfortunately, QB Kenny Pickett is pressured on the play and isn’t able to see Austin pop open or he likely would have had his first NFL touchdown.
On this rep, Austin is tasked with running an inside-stem option route. The quickness at the top of his route is impressive. Not many defensive backs will be able to stick that, especially when he’s given a two-way go on an option route.
Again, Pickett’s progressions prohibit him from looking Austin’s way, but he would have had another decent shot at scoring had he been targeted here.
Austin’s 4.32 speed is his obvious calling card, but it doesn’t benefit him just running by people. It keeps cornerbacks on edge. Here, he’s able to get even with the corner showing vertical before breaking down, leaving the corner having to grab his shoulder, and drawing a penalty.
Counting preseason, Austin has now drawn three penalties in four games. Not a bad ratio. His speed creates issues and it won’t be his last this season.
Here’s another rep of Austin against the same 49er cornerback. Austin again does a great job at pushing vertical and the CB turns his hips to bail extremely early, leaving an easy pitch and catch for Pickett and Austin.
The last thing to look at is Austin’s blocking. There weren’t a ton of run-blocking reps for Austin, but this one was below the line. With a full cutback from RB Najee Harris, I’m sure he was surprised to even be in the play, but it’s a lesson to Austin here to always be locked in.
At 170 pounds, like Johnson, he’ll never be a great run-blocker, but it’s more effort than anything. The effort wasn’t there on this rep.
With what we’ve seen from Austin through the preseason and week one, it’s hard not to be impressed. He’s obviously not yet at Diontae Johnson’s level, but he’ll slip into that role as an ‘X’ almost seamlessly. The biggest difference in their game is going to be Johnson’s expanded catch radius compared to Austin’s.
However, the Steelers have lacked a player behind Johnson that is able to consistently create separation on the outside and it’s always been a thorn in their side when Johnson has been sidelined.
Austin can be that guy.
Having such depth is beneficial, allowing the offense to maintain consistency week-to-week, regardless of how badly the offense may need to be overhauled. Austin’s early elevation to a more prominent role is intriguing, and the experience will only help him when Diontae gets back to full health and returns to his role.
