The Pittsburgh Steelers mustered one catch for 15 yards out of WR Mike Williams in their first game in which they planned around not having George Pickens available. He has just five catches since arriving via trade a full six games ago. And at this point, few people seem to anticipate anything changing—certainly not Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
“Anybody who thought Mike Williams was gonna come in and be a legitimate No. 2 receiver, it’s just not the case”, he said on the DVE Morning Show yesterday. “He played only 18 snaps [against the Eagles]. If he’s accurately and truly replacing George Pickens, other than just being a body, he would play more snaps. A non-factor in the game, obviously”.
Williams actually only played 15 snaps, but the Steelers collectively played just 43 on offense. Both Calvin Austin III and Van Jefferson played 35 snaps, Ben Skowronek and Scotty Miller 10 apiece. If Scotty Miller and Ben Skowronek are combining to play more snaps than Mike Williams, without George Pickens on the field, one has to wonder.
A week earlier, Williams played only 19 snaps out of a total of 65 for the Steelers. He was much more involved in the passing game in that one, though, with three catches. He also had an explosive catch negated due to an offensive pass interference penalty.
“He’s certainly not the Mike Williams of old”, Dulac insisted of the Steelers’ trade deadline acquisition. “That was actually apparent when you saw what he went to the Jets. They paid the guy $[10] million for one year. It’s like, good Lord. You talk about overpaying a guy. And, of course, they found that out very quickly”.
The Steelers planned to bring in Mike Williams for a free agency visit this offseason. He never made it to Pittsburgh because the Jets struck first, signing him to a one-year, $10 million deal. But he wore out his welcome with Aaron Rodgers, it seemed, and they dealt him for a fifth-round pick.
Mike Williams is now 30 years old and coming off a major injury. He is on pace to play 18 games this year, but he hasn’t looked 100 percent by any means. “[He’s not] getting open”, even since joining the Steelers, Dulac insisted. “He’s the type of receiver that’s basically gonna run one route, and that’s a go route, and maybe go over a 50/50 ball”.
That is how the Steelers had hoped to use him, yet they haven’t played him frequently or targeted him often. To date, he has seen seven targets, catching five for 83 yards and a touchdown. Williams made a splash in his debut with a 32-yard game-winning touchdown catch. That won him a grace period, but the results haven’t been there since then.
And now without George Pickens, Williams’ lack of playmaking has become glaring. One assumes if the Steelers believed he was a playmaker, he would be seeing more targets, or even snaps. But he is not, which seems like a tacit acknowledgement that they see others as better options.
