Player: WR Calvin Austin III
Stock Value: Up
Reasoning: Calvin Austin III had a career day on Sunday, catching four passes for 95 yards and a touchdown. He saw his third-most targets, caught his second-most passes, and recorded his most yardage. Meanwhile, he continues to look threatening as a punt returner. Suddenly, the Steelers’ wide receiver room doesn’t look as barren as it did three days ago.
Now, let’s not get ahead of ourselves and suddenly start to think that the Steelers have a bountiful receiver room. Both Calvin Austin III and Scotty Miller made some plays on Sunday, but we’re talking like, four plays. And we’re talking about one game. Miller didn’t even catch a pass in the first two games, and Austin didn’t catch a pass worth mentioning.
But at least Sunday showed that it’s not just the George Pickens Show at wide receiver, which is the concern many had for the Steelers going into the regular season after failing to acquire another starter. Austin has had his moments here and there, but they have been few and far between.
On Sunday, he had the opportunity to show what he can do under the right circumstances. While Austin’s 5-9 frame will limit him at times, as on his lone end-zone target of the season thus far, he has speed, shiftiness, and instincts.
He showed that on two plays in particular. While we will naturally gravitate toward his 55-yard touchdown, let’s not forget about his 25-yard sideline catch to convert on 3rd and 14. Granted, that same drive ended with the end-zone target on 3rd and 13 from the 20-yard line on which he simply was short of inches.
But the Steelers drafted Calvin Austin III primarily because of his speed, and he showed that. He put on the afterburners on his 55-yard catch-and-run touchdown, which consisted mostly of YAC. Justin Fields got nearly half of his passing yards from runs after the catch, and Austin provided a chunk there. With that performance, expect him to get more opportunities in the coming weeks.
As the season progresses, Steelers players’ stocks rise and fall. The nature of the evaluation differs with the time of year, with in-season considerations being more often short-term. Considerations in the offseason often have broader implications, particularly when players lose their jobs, or the team signs someone. This time of year is full of transactions, whether minor or major.
A bad game, a new contract, an injury, a promotion—any number of things affect a player’s value. Think of it as a stock on the market, based on speculation. You’ll feel better about a player after a good game, or worse after a bad one. Some stock updates are minor, while others are likely to be quite drastic, so bear in mind the degree. I’ll do my best to explain the nature of that in the reasoning section of each column.
