While wide receiver George Pickens gets a lot of credit for the explosive play element in the offense of the Pittsburgh Steelers, third-year wide receiver Calvin Austin III is a guy that can’t be forgotten about.
On the season, Austin has nine receptions of 20+ yards and has put up 28 receptions for 452 yards and four touchdowns. Austin has really taken off with Russell Wilson at QB, too, after Wilson took over as the starting quarterback for the Black and Gold.
Though he’s a bit undersized, Calvin Austin has thrived this season for the Steelers, stretching the field vertically and providing an explosive element after the catch.
For Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin, Austin is a “quick and fast” weapon. He can get in and out of breaks quickly and then has the speed to run away from defenders to create separation, leading to his big-play production this season.
“He’s both quick and fast, and so his quickness allows him to get releases at the line of scrimmage, and he has the type of long speed that allows them to create separation, whether it’s across the field or down the field,” Tomlin said of Austin and why he’s been able to create explosive plays, according to Steelers.com. “And when you’re quick and fast, usually you position yourself to have the type of stats that you outlined.”
When the Steelers drafted Calvin Austin in the fourth round of the 2022 NFL Draft out of Memphis, this type of production from Austin was largely what they envisioned. But then he missed his entire rookie season due to a foot injury and was relatively quiet in Year 2, even with some big plays offensively.
But this season, Austin has taken well to the coaching of new wide receivers coach Zach Azzanni and has really emerged as a key weapon for the Black and Gold. He’s undersized, but Austin has taken off for the Steelers with his speed and ability to run all of the routes on the route tree.
He’s been needed, too, as the Steelers came into the year with questions at receiver behind Pickens. Though he hasn’t always been consistent — seven games with one reception — he’s been a big-play merchant who finds ways to impact games when he’s targeted.
Calvin Austin has earned quite a bit of praise from Azzanni and Wilson, and now Tomlin is adding on praise for the “quick and fast” receiver, who has become an underrated piece in Arthur Smith’s offense.
