As the Pittsburgh Steelers continue to be involved in the trade talks for San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, their receivers continue to put their heads down and go to work, making plays left and right.
Players like Van Jefferson, Calvin Austin III, Scotty Miller and Quez Watkins have all had strong training camps, and some even made plays in the preseason opener. Jefferson hauled in a nice pass from Justin Fields for a 20-yard gain off play-action, while Austin made a pair of explosive plays through the air from Kyle Allen.
Even Miller had a 38-yard catch-and-run in the 20-12 loss to the Texans.
Though the general belief remains that the Steelers need to add a receiver to better complement — and potentially be above — George Pickens as the WR1, the Steelers’ third-year receiver likes what Pittsburgh has at its disposal.
“I feel like we’re explosive. Like you said, tight ends, too,” Pickens said to reporters Wednesday following the final practice of training camp, according to video via Yardbarker’s Aaron Becker on Twitter. “They play a huge role in getting receivers open. So, I feel like we got a nice group of tight ends. Darnell [Washington], Pat [Freiermuth], 81 [MyCole Pruitt] has kind of been in Art’s [Arthur Smith] offense over there, so we got some nice tights.”
The Steelers’ receiving group should be explosive, at least more explosive than last year, now that Arthur Smith is in the fold as the Steelers’ offensive coordinator.
In Smith’s scheme, the Steelers will utilize play-action more, and Smith uses more crossing routes that will allow guys to work themselves open and lead to big plays. Though things were quite simplistic in the preseason opener against the Texans, those big plays came off crossing routes and routes that developed deeper down the field. That should really help the passing game be productive this season.
They might not have the big names behind Pickens, but they have NFL veterans who have been there, done that in the NFL at the position, especially with Jefferson, Miller and Watkins. Two of them have won a Super Bowl, and all three have played in massive games and made plays.
The tight ends will be key in the passing game, too, especially Freiermuth. Historically in Smith’s scheme, tight ends get a heavy usage rate, and that should be the case in Pittsburgh.
Freiermuth is a good pass catcher and should bounce back from an injury-riddled 2023 season that saw him limited and then rarely producing. Players like Darnell Washington, MyCole Pruitt and Connor Heyward could be weapons in the passing game, too, for Smith, especially Pruitt and Heyward.
The receivers have the potential to be explosive. They, of course, have to go out and prove it, but the potential is there, at least on paper.
