Player: WR Ke’Shawn Williams
Stock Value: Up
Reasoning: Calvin Austin III’s injury opened the door for Steelers rookie WR Ke’Shawn Williams, and he is running through it. With Austin missing time, Williams has taken over not just punt return but also kick return duties. Thus far, he is doing a sufficient job and showing the potential for some explosive plays. Already, he has a 37-yard kick return, which is the Steelers’ longest in…longer than it should be.
It’s too early to say whether Ke’Shawn Williams is here to stay, but he is here for now. And that’s good enough. In two games, he is averaging 11.4 yards on five punt returns for 57 yards. Pulling double duty, he is also averaging 28.2 yards on five kick returns for 141 yards. He has a long punt return of 17 yards and a long kick return of 37.
A rookie college free agent, Williams signed with the Steelers following the 2025 NFL Draft. During the preseason, he showed flashes as both a wide receiver and a return man. In fact, the Steelers let him return punts throughout the entire preseason. When Calvin Austin III suffered an injury in Week 4, it was no surprise that he got the call.
Although Austin appears to be on his way back, Ke’Shawn Williams still feels safe. I don’t know if the Steelers will put Austin back on punt returns, but they still need a kick returner. Kenneth Gainwell can do the job and is one of their two returners. But Williams seems to be the logical choice to be the other returner—perhaps the main one.
Through two weeks, Williams has logged all of one snap on offense. That’s not why he’s on the 53-man roster right now, and the Steelers simply are not using receivers in volume. But he has the potential to contribute there if they need him to. All the more reason for him to stick around, even if it means carrying more receivers than they intended.
With the regular season underway and the roster in place, it’s once again time to “take stock”. It took a while, but we finally saw some of that change the team talked about after the season ended. Certainly, the move to trade for WR DK Metcalf qualifies as a change, not to mention the accompanying contract. Oh, and they also traded some guy named George Pickens, which people found significant.
After a long offseason, we finally know what this Steelers team will look like for the 2025 season. The dust is long settled on both free agency and the 2025 NFL Draft, and now we’re into the real thing. What final moves might the team make, if any? They’ve certainly made a flurry of moves, though some question whether they make much difference. This is a Steelers team starving for postseason success, but how desperate are they for a playoff win in 2025?
