If it feels like the Pittsburgh Steelers haven’t gotten much slot production from their wide receivers the last two years, you’d be right. The five primary slot wideouts in 2022 and 2023 have been Chase Claypool, Gunner Olszewski, Steven Sims, Allen Robinson II, and Calvin Austin III.
The results? They’ve been light. Really, really light. Pulling the data tells that story in clear terms. Courtesy of Pro Football Focus, here’s each team’s slot production from wide receivers (not tight ends) over the last two seasons.
Credit to Dave Bryan and Ross McCorkle doing the heavy lifting and putting together the data and chart.
Bottom-five numbers in every category for the Steelers. By category, here’s where Pittsburgh finished:
Steelers’ Slot WR Production (2022-2023)
Receptions: 29th
Targets: 27th
Touchdowns: 31st
Yards: 31st
YAC: 31st
Yards Per Rec: 28th
YAC Per Rec: Tied-Last
Their “best” mark came in targets at 27th. Everything else, everything involving actually catching the ball, they were in the bottom five. In four categories, they were last or next to last.
Despite trading for Allen Robinson II and getting back Calvin Austin III after the latter missed his rookie year, Pittsburgh’s production was worse in 2023 than in 2022. This year, the Steelers finished last leaguewide in receptions (42), touchdowns (one), yards (497), and YAC (165).
The Steelers’ passing game runs through their outside receivers in part because of the talent of Diontae Johnson and George Pickens but also in part because there’s nothing else to throw to.
In fairness, TE Pat Freiermuth was productive in 2022 before injuries hampered his 2023 campaign. But there’s plenty of teams high on this list that had productive tight ends and slot wide receiver production. The Dallas Cowboys have Jake Ferguson, who caught 71 passes in 2023. The Buffalo Bills throw to their tight ends as much as anyone while the Kansas City Chiefs got plenty of slot production despite Travis Kelce’s presence. There appears to be a small trendline to teams with featured tight ends negating slot receiver production with the Chicago Bears (Cole Kmet) and Baltimore Ravens (Mark Andrews) also near the bottom with Pittsburgh, but the correlation isn’t perfect. But the Steelers threw the ball nearly 100 more times than the Ravens and almost 200 more times than the Bears. Pittsburgh doesn’t have the same excuse as those two teams.
The Steelers’ talent vacuum at slot receiver is obvious. Chase Claypool has been the team’s most productive slot receiver of the last two years, and he was a wreck after moving from outside to the interior before getting dealt to Chicago ahead of the trade 2022 deadline. That season, he caught 28 passes for 288 yards and one touchdown before the team moved on from the former second-round draft pick. Replacing him midseason was Gunner Olszewski and Steven Sims, who literally had more rushing attempts than receptions and spent most of their offensive snaps as window dressing with pre-snap motion.
The Steelers restocked the shelves in the offseason, acquiring Robinson as the Rams dumped (some) salary and getting Austin healthy after suffering a foot injury as a rookie. Robinson did his job just fine, blocking, making possession-down catches and being a veteran presence. But his best days are long behind him and making an impact past five yards is out of the question. Only 26.4 percent of his receptions this year went for first downs compared to Johnson’s 72.5 percent and Pickens’ 66.7 percent.
And Austin? After busting out with a 72-yard touchdown in Week Three over the Las Vegas Raiders, his impact was hardly felt. Johnson’s return from his hamstring injury played a factor, but Austin caught just five passes over the Steelers’ final 13 games, recording more rushes than receptions.
Some of the lack of slot production be blamed on scheme. The Steelers are well-known for not throwing much over the middle. But when there’s talent, slot receivers can succeed. JuJu Smith-Schuster transitioned from an outside to slot role throughout his Steelers career and though his yards per reception fell, he still posted 97 receptions, 831 yards, and nine touchdowns in his last fully healthy season in Pittsburgh. Nearly as many receptions and yards as the Steelers have had out of the slot the last two years combined and more than double the touchdowns.
Other factors play a role too. Pittsburgh’s passing game has been statistically unproductive since Ben Roethlisberger retired. But the Steelers have also done little to find a true slot receiver. It’s hard to know what they want. A big-bodied possession receiver like Smith-Schuster and Robinson or a shifty space player like Austin and Sims? They’ve had both.
No matter the style, there’s gotta be some sizzle. Pittsburgh’s production can’t be this pedestrian three-straight years. The best offenses are well-rounded and varied and able to win no matter what the defensive game plan. Right now, all opposing defenses have to do is take away the outside and vertical shots and they severely hamper Pittsburgh’s passing attack. A slot receiver will create more opportunities to throw over the middle. And force defenses to play more single-high looks.
It might not be the Steelers’ biggest need but it’s arguably their most underrated one. Slot-receiver production has become so invisible it’s easy to forget that the role even exists and what tangible output looks like. It’s been two years of empty routes. And it’s hard to be a potent offense when you’re playing with 10 men on offense. Pittsburgh’s gotta make a change.
