The Pittsburgh Steelers may not have WR Calvin Austin III out of the bye. Dealing with a shoulder injury that could keep him out a game or games, the team will need its backup wide receivers to step up and make plays. It’s a position that group hasn’t been in much this year. Through four games, the backup wide receivers have hardly seen the ball.
That’s not to say they’ve been invisible. Ben Skowronek has done the dirty work and made a dozen hidden plays – not to mention catching the first touchdown of the season. Roman Wilson recovered a crucial onside kick to help close out a win over the Minnesota Vikings and Scotty Miller is expected to be Austin’s replacement at punt returner. But receptions? Those have hardly been there. Just two among the Steelers’ backup wide receivers this season. Skowronek’s score and a garbage-time grab by Wilson at the end of the Seattle Seahawks’ loss.
How does that stack up to the rest of the NFL? Predictably, not well. Below is a chart of the number of receptions by backup receivers on each team. Because it can be hard to determine backups for each squad, I excluded the top-two wide receiver receptions leaders and tallied the rest.
| Team | Backup WR Receptions |
|---|---|
| Cowboys | 25 |
| Jaguars | 21 |
| Bears | 21 |
| Chargers | 19 |
| Packers | 19 |
| Buccaneers | 18 |
| Commanders | 18 |
| Bills | 17 |
| Texans | 17 |
| Colts | 17 |
| Titans | 16 |
| Broncos | 16 |
| Chiefs | 16 |
| Patriots | 14 |
| Dolphins | 14 |
| Saints | 13 |
| Browns | 11 |
| Falcons | 11 |
| Panthers | 11 |
| 49ers | 11 |
| Eagles | 9 |
| Giants | 9 |
| Vikings | 9 |
| Cardinals | 9 |
| Jets | 8 |
| Ravens | 8 |
| Lions | 8 |
| Rams | 8 |
| Seahawks | 8 |
| Raiders | 7 |
| Bengals | 4 |
| Steelers | 2 |
No surprise, Pittsburgh’s two receptions ranks last. Granted, it’s a tight end-heavy team with a quarterback releasing the ball faster than anyone else in the NFL. Expecting the Steelers to have the receptions of Dallas or 11 personnel-based teams is unreasonable. But the Steelers are suddenly counting on that trio of Wilson, Skowronek, and Miller to make plays. Maybe not a lot of them but some. Austin’s come up large on just his 10 catches this season, scoring twice (one of which was a game-winner) and recording first downs on 60-percent of his grabs.
So there’s a lot to learn. And at least a little to expect. For Skowronek to keep blocking his butt off but do more in the passing game. For Miller to show his speed and NFL experience, showing the connection he created with Aaron Rodgers late in training camp. For Wilson to meet the moment, as WRs Coach Zach Azzanni has told him, and make the first impact plays of his career. Until Austin returns, these three Steelers don’t need to do it all. But they’ll need to do more.
