Perhaps the comment was meant without any hint of shade at Calvin Austin III’s former offensive coordinator. But in the context of how ineffective Matt Canada’s offense was in 2023, Austin is happy to show off what he can do as an actual wide receiver instead of being just a “gadget” player.
Asked what he is expecting from the Steelers’ new Arthur Smith-led offense, Austin believes he can make conventional plays in the passing game.
“I can obviously do a lot with the ball in my hands,” he said via reporter Amanda Godsey. “But I’m a true receiver. So it’d be good to run some more routes.”
Running routes isn’t something Austin did much of last year. Canada’s offense was jet-sweep happy, and while those plays had some measure of success, they were leaned on too heavily. Austin’s first NFL touch came via a jet touch pass. Immediately figured out by the San Francisco 49ers defense, it resulted in a loss of 1 yard.
He would call that his “welcome to the NFL moment.” For Calvin Austin III, he lived in the backfield and on short routes throughout the season, especially frustrating after his promising 72-yard touchdown in Week 3 against the Las Vegas Raiders. For the rest of the season, he had more carries (nine) than receptions (five). The five catches he made were all of the short variety, registering a running back-like 7.4 yards per reception.
Per the charting by our Tom Mead, 40 percent of his targets under Canada had a depth of target under 10 yards. His speed warranted the occasional deep pass but rarely did the Steelers do anything interesting to get him open in the middle of the field.
Through four training camp practices under Smith, Austin has been used like a “normal” receiver. His play has been mixed, making a handful of plays but still struggling to make grabs outside his frame or in true contested moments. Canada alone can’t be blamed on Austin’s slow start to his career and to be fair, that wasn’t Austin’s comment. But he should get a fairer chance to show what he can as a receiver, currently running as one of the top three on the depth chart. He’ll need to hold off Roman Wilson, Scotty Miller, and any external options to stay there.
