The Pittsburgh Steelers have that fresh car smell coming out of the bye week. What was a messy, ragtag offense, suddenly feels new with the imminent return of tight end Pat Freiermuth and wide receiver Diontae Johnson.
Offensive coordinator Matt Canada, who survived a potential bye week firing, spoke to the media on Thursday about how he believes Johnson and Freiermuth can get his unit back on track.
“You talk about the passing game, it’s going to change a little bit,” Canada said via transcripts provided by the Steelers’ media relations department. “You got some really good weapons coming out there and then you got a couple of guys up front getting healthy.”
Both skill-position players are among the team’s better offensive weapons on the roster, so the team will undoubtedly benefit from their contributions. Freiermuth, a basketball center-like with a box-out mentality when fighting for jump balls to pair with strong hands should improve the team across the middle and in the red zone. Johnson moves like a Corvette, able to break, decelerate, and cut on a dime, which should provide quarterback Kenny Pickett easier completions throughout a game.
Add this to the freeing of George Pickens, who has been seeing shaded coverage in two-high safety looks, and the team should be in line for more opening when attacking opposing defenses.
Canada even teased that there may be changes to the team’s offensive scheme as well saying, “There’s probably some things we might do.”
That might not be a shining endorsement of things changing, but it is certainly (we hope) a sign of change from what we have seen thus far.
Do I believe that Johnson and Freiermuth will send us back to that dreamy multiverse where the offense looked like the second coming of the greatest show on turf in the preseason? I wouldn’t go that far.
The hope should be that the familiarity of the two players helps Pickett to ease into the offense earlier in the game, and maybe, just maybe, score some first-quarter touchdowns.
Not to be forgotten in this is right guard James Daniels, who is also set to return this week. While he has by no means been spectacular in his appearances thus far, the big-money free agent from two offseasons ago figures to be an upgrade for a team that has struggled to run the ball.
Daniels, more than the other returning players, figures to be facing the biggest challenge this week as he and the team prepare for Aaron Donald and the Los Angeles Rams.
