Arthur Smith hasn’t been scared to be creative with the Pittsburgh Steelers’ offense. Most of the creativity has involved the running backs and tight ends, but Smith ended up having another trick up his sleeve during Sunday’s win. Early on, he had DK Metcalf playing fullback, something he’s never done before.
It was a short-lived experiment, partly because Metcalf actually came up limping quickly afterwards, although he was obviously able to return for the rest of the game. Still, it was a unique experiment for him, one he spoke about during his press conference after the game, via the Steelers’ YouTube channel.
“My stance wasn’t good enough?” Metcalf joked. “I thought it was good personally, but yeah, that was my first time being back there. The view was a little wicked. But, you know, I like being outside the numbers.”
Metcalf surely does like lining up out wide better. He made a few big plays outside the numbers, with four receptions for a very solid 95 yards. 25 of those came on this touchdown pass from Aaron Rodgers down the sideline.
That said, there are some decent reasons behind having Metcalf at fullback. Blocking would be an obvious one. Metcalf is a tall, large and strong figure. He can block very well, so it would make sense to have him as a lead-blocker. Even in the passing game there are advantages, with a linebacker likely covering him coming out of the backfield, which is an obvious mismatch.
Metcalf’s performance was encouraging, but so is Arthur Smith’s ability to think outside the box. Obviously having Metcalf at fullback for an extended time probably isn’t best. But given his complicated start to the season, it’s good that Smith is looking at other ways to get involved. Coincidentally, he may have had his most consistent game of the year out wide on the same day the Steelers started moving him around the field.
It came at an important time, too. Without Calvin Austin III in the mix, the Steelers really needed Metcalf to win his matchups and allow the offense to run through him. He was able to do so, and it was a big part in the Steelers’ win.
