When the Pittsburgh Steelers hired former Atlanta Falcons head coach Arthur Smith to become their new offensive coordinator, it was expected that the team would be open to acquiring a couple players Smith has been familiar with to help run his system.
Smith has wasted no time putting his stamp on Pittsburgh’s roster on the offensive side on the football as the franchise has signed a host of former Falcons already to the team. The team just reportedly signed WR Scotty Miller, who spent the 2023 season with Smith in Atlanta after starting his career in Tampa Bay. He hauled in 11 receptions for 161 yards and two touchdowns in 17 games. He joins a room that also features WR Van Jefferson, who played for the Falcons last year as well after getting traded by the Los Angeles Rams for a swap of 2025 late-round picks in October. He played in 12 games for the Falcons and totaled 12 receptions for 101 yards.
Smith has also added other former Falcons at running back and tight end, signing RB Cordarrelle Patterson and TE MyCole Pruitt. Pruitt played for Smith in Tennessee before following him to Atlanta for the 2022-23 seasons. He caught 16 receptions for 150 yards and four touchdowns with Atlanta in 2022 and had nine receptions for 110 yards and one touchdown last season. Having played roughly around 25% of the special teams snaps the last three seasons, Pruitt likely will have to contribute a little more in that facet of the game to have a shot at sticking on Pittsburgh’s 53-man roster.
It’s also worth noting that another former Falcon under Smith is on the Steelers’ roster, that being wide receiver Keilahn Harris. The Steelers signed Harris on January 17 as part of the Reserve/Futures deals that saw the Steelers sign 17 players. Harris spent training camp and the preseason in 2023 with the Falcons, playing against the Steelers in the preseason, catching six passes in the final preseason tune-up for both teams.
The Steelers also worked out Harris on December 28 as part of a nine-player workout late in the season, so the interest in Harris was there well before Smith was hired as the Steelers’ new offensive coordinator.
As for Patterson, he played for Smith from 2021-2023, having a breakout season in 2021 where he compiled 153 rushes for 618 rushing yards, 52 receptions for 548 receiving yards, and 11 total touchdowns. Patterson had another strong season in 2022, rushing for 695 yards and eight touchdowns along with 21 receptions for 122 yards, but fell off last season as Atlanta turned to rookie RB Bijan Robinson as well as Tyler Allgeier.
The addition of Miller today makes four former skill-position players from the Falcons now on Pittsburgh’s roster following Smith’s hiring on Feb. 2, and five total including Harris, who was signed before Smith joined the Steelers. It goes to show that Smith has had some pull in assembling the talent on the offensive side of the ball since arriving in Pittsburgh. In the draft, Pittsburgh went heavy on the offensive line, selecting players who play with grit, and it now has a handful of former Smith players on the roster.
All the names added to the roster from Atlanta fit more rotational/backup status. Patterson is more of a special teams contributor at this point in his career while Jefferson and Miller are more niche players who are better in complementary roles than as every-down starters. Still, it goes to show that Smith has a fair amount of influence on this roster. Hopefully a couple of his former players in Atlanta can stick on Pittsburgh’s 53-man roster and make significant contributions come the regular season to help lift this offense from the mediocrity it’s been mired in for some time.
