Is Mike Williams finally a contributor in the Steelers’ offense?
Including penalties Sunday, WR Mike Williams led the Steelers in targets, receptions, and was third in yards with the longest play from scrimmage. That was after going three straight games without a target. And his only target before that only arose due to injury.
Of course, Williams only played as much as he did yesterday because George Pickens sat out with a hamstring injury. Because of that, it’s hard to know how what we saw in this game will translate moving forward.
The Steelers only attempted 26 passes in their 27-14 win over the Cleveland Browns, which is not a lot to go around during a game. Mike Williams still saw five targets, including a big reception negated by an offensive pass interference penalty. While Williams questioned the flag, the letter of the law suggests it was a fair call.
On his other four targets that counted, Williams caught three passes for 36 yards. He also had the Steelers’ longest play from scrimmage on a 22-yard grab. Only Jaylen Warren had more official targets with five, and nobody had more than three receptions.
But how will the Steelers use Mike Williams next week, and the week after that? They had been playing him but not been targeting him. While he wasn’t playing 30-40 snaps, most of the snaps he did get came in passing situations. But even in a game in which the Steelers connected with 10 eligibles, he wasn’t among them.
So how do you go from odd man out when 10 people catch a ball to being a core contributor? Did Mike Williams prove to the Steelers that they can trust him to see a few targets per game. And if that is the case, did they not already know that, and why? They did trade for him, yet they had not been making use of him in the passing game.
Williams had only caught three or more passes in a game twice previously this season, and that was early in the year with the Jets. After Week 5, he had never caught more than one pass—and usually caught none. Now he has three in one game, so is that a sign of more to come? Or was that just the necessary with George Pickens out?
The Steelers’ 2024 season is underway, following another disappointing year ending in a first-round playoff loss. They have had a long offseason since the Buffalo Bills stamped them out of their misery back in January. There are positive signs, but things could jump off the rails any moment.
The biggest question hanging over the team is the quarterback question. Is Russell Wilson earning a lucrative new deal next year, and is Justin Fields still in consideration? How will the team continue to address the depth chart, which is surprisingly still in flux?
The regular season is here, following weeks of camp and preseason games. The Steelers made numerous moves through signings and trade—and release. More than usual, they seemed comfortable creating holes, confident they can fill them. Some they managed to fill, others not so much. Now that we have so many pieces of the puzzle, however, we merely have a new set of questions to ask.
