The Pittsburgh Steelers have stockpiled former Arthur Smith bit players this offseason, the most recent being WR Scotty Miller. Signed after the draft, the sixth-year veteran spent the 2023 season playing under Smith in Atlanta. Now with some time elapsed in Pittsburgh, he likes what he sees—which is largely what he saw with the Falcons.
“I’ve only been here for about two weeks, but it’s been great”, Teresa Varley quotes Miller as saying, via the team’s website, about his early experiences as a Steeler and working with Smith again. “It’s great to be back with ‘C.P.’ [Cordarrelle Patterson], ‘Pru’ [MyCole Pruitt], Van [Jefferson], and, obviously, ‘Coach Art’. It’s been great. Obviously, we all liked what we were doing in Atlanta with him and the system he runs and what he does about his business”.
Miller, Patterson, Pruitt, and Jefferson all played under Smith at various stages, including last season. Pruitt goes back with Smith to his Tennessee days, in fact, with Smith and Jefferson spending the least amount of time with him. In fact, Jefferson only spent a portion of the 2023 season under Smith. Miller spent the entire year in Atlanta, so he knows the system well enough to recognize it.
“A lot of the verbiage is very similar,”, Miller said, according to Varley, about Arthur Smith’s offense. “A lot of what he does, I think he caters to what personnel he has very well. We ran a lot of bigger personnels because we had a lot of good tight ends in Atlanta. Here we have a lot of different type of guys, good running backs, stuff like that. I think he does a good job putting guys in different positions to make plays”.
It’s hard to know what that entails without seeing it, of course, and OTAs are not open practices. On top of that, drawing any broad conclusions about personnel from OTAs is a fool’s errand. But it’s true that Smith, like every other offensive coordinator, claims to cater to his personnel. And he does have tight ends at his disposal—arguably a better-looking group all around than Miller’s wide receivers.
The Steelers have George Pickens at the top of the wide receiver depth chart, with Calvin Austin III, Van Jefferson, and rookie third-round pick Roman Wilson presumably the most notable names behind him. But they also have veterans like Miller, Quez Watkins, Marquez Calloway, and Denzel Mims competing for spots, as well.
If he does make the team, Scotty Miller already knows what he’s in for. He is a deep threat, which he’s always been throughout his career. His 12.2-yard average depth of target last season under Smith is actually the shallowest mark of his career. He averaged 17.9 air yards per target as a rookie.
As for Smith, he is coming off his first firing of his career. After a decade moving up the ranks in the Titans organization, leading to a short stint as offensive coordinator, he spent the past three seasons as the Falcons’ head coach. That’s where he met up with Patterson, Jefferson, and Miller, bringing Pruitt along. Of the group, however, only Patterson is a roster lock—and that’s as a kick returner.
