In his first full season after missing his rookie year due to a foot injury, Pittsburgh Steelers WR Calvin Austin III has brought splash to the offense. But beyond a long touchdown catch, his overall impact has been minimal. And according to one study, he is one of the league’s least successful receivers this season.
As laid out by data-cruncher Arjun Menon, who put together a list of the best and worst success rates among pass catchers this season, Austin is nearly at the bottom –130th out of 132 qualifiers with a 31.8 percent success rate.
As his study shows, the only less successful players targeted are New York Giants WR Parris Campbell and Tennessee Titans TE Chig Okonkwo.
On the year, Austin has been targeted 22 times. He’s caught 12 of those passes for 143 yards, an average of just under 12 yards per catch, and one touchdown. The score was his biggest play of the season, a 72-yard touchdown against the Las Vegas Raiders, running a post route and burning the Raiders’ safety for a long score.
But that’s about the only time this season his speed has been on display. Beyond that, he’s spent the season catching a handful of short passes and doing little with them. Pittsburgh’s also tried to work him into the receiver run game but has been unsuccessful, Austin carrying the ball three times for four yards. He’s also served as the team’s starting punt returner but is averaging only 4.9 yards per return, a figure that ranks 33rd out of the 35 return men with at least five runbacks.
Perhaps his second-best trait this season has been the effort he’s shown as a blocker, making up for a lack of size. Austin has some quickness to his game but isn’t as elusive as say, a Rondale Moore type who can work in short spaces. Austin is a bit more of a straight-line runner who does his damage vertically. He also goes down on contact easily and has a limited catch range that requires pinpoint throws.
With WR Diontae Johnson returning last week, Austin saw his involvement drop dramatically. He played just seven offensive snaps, easily a season-low, and was not targeted. Johnson’s return was expected to reduce Austin’s playing time, but WR Allen Robinson II dominated the snap count, out-snapping Austin, 38-7.
The Steelers could work on getting Austin involved in other creative ways. In training camp, they flirted with lining him up of the backfield, and he could see more slot snaps now that the receiver room is healthier. But for a team that doesn’t throw the ball on many RPOs or run a high amount of receiver screens, Austin has been used as a vertical/clearout defender with feast/famine production. And, analytically, not someone who is helping the Steelers’ offense get on track.
