The Pittsburgh Steelers’ offense will look to get on track Monday night against the Cleveland Browns. They’ll have to do it without top WR Diontae Johnson. Expected to miss up to a month due to a hamstring injury, the Steelers will rely on others to take his place, including second-year WR Calvin Austin III. who played in his first regular-season game last Sunday.
Talking with reporters Wednesday, Austin said he expects to move around the offense to try and make up for Johnson’s absence.
“I’ve gotten a lot of work at [inside and outside],” he said via Steelers.com. “Just part of our offense, we have a lot of interchangeable parts. We’ve been thrown around all through camp, just to be prepared for moments like this. So I think we’ll all be able to do inside and out.”
In college at Memphis, Austin primarily functioned as an outside receiver and one of college football’s most potent playmakers. Given his size limitations, he was profiled to kick inside at the NFL level. But he has plenty of experience playing on the perimeter and ever since Antonio Brown was traded, the Steelers have focused on being able to move their receivers around as opposed to playing specific spots.
After Johnson went down early in the second half against the San Francisco 49ers, Austin was primarily used on the outside. According to our charting, Austin was an outside receiver on 21 of the 35 snaps Johnson didn’t play in Week One. Allen Robinson II spent most time in the slot, 29 of his 35 Johnson-less snaps logged there. But Austin noted Pittsburgh was adjusting on the fly and game plans could shift with time to prepare for the Browns.
“I think throughout this week we’ll get together a game plan to make sure we’re in the best spots to succeed,” he said.
In his NFL debut, Austin did his damage underneath, finishing with six receptions for 37 yards. He also served as the team’s starting punt returner, fielding one for two yards. Ideally, he’ll be able to provide more explosive plays in Week Two, though those can’t be counted on every week. Pittsburgh had one opportunity to hit him deep, but pressure flushed Kenny Pickett the opposite way, thwarting the chance.
Just as the Steelers’ defensive line must quickly grow up without Cam Heyward, Austin and company must do the same until Johnson returns. The good news is Pittsburgh is better equipped to move its top receivers around with Austin and Robinson, and even George Pickens more flexible than he was a year ago. Still, the production will have to be there and replacing Johnson won’t be easy. Especially against a Cleveland Browns secondary that shut down a top Bengals offense in Week One, holding QB Joe Burrow to only 82 passing yards.
