The Pittsburgh Steelers’ wide receiver room wants to get grimy. While it’s a room that, on paper, could use another piece, wide receiver Calvin Austin III thinks it’s a “complete” room due to the unique traits that everyone brings. Speaking to the media today, Austin said that the whole room has a “little edge” to it that can help them win beyond their talent level.
“We have to be grinding because in this league, everybody’s so talented that your talent isn’t gonna always win. You need to have that little edge about yourself. So it’s not just about individuals, it’s about our whole room, and our whole room is behind that, and we’re gonna show that on the field,” Austin said via Pittsburgh’s DSEN on YouTube.
He pointed out the unique traits that each receiver has in the room, which give them a “grimy nature” to succeed.
“I think everybody in their own facet has that grimy nature. You got a guy like Ben [Skowronek] who does a lot of dirty work for us, but then you got a guy like [Roman Wilson], who he has no fear in his heart, you got a guy like Scotty [Miller], who ain’t afraid of nobody, who cook bigger defenders, go across the middle, DK [Metcalf], you see obviously what he can do. So it’s like everybody in their own setting who brings their own griminess about them, and that’s what makes it a complete wide receiver room.”
The Steelers didn’t get the chance to really see Roman Wilson work last year, as he played just five snaps during his rookie year due to injuries. Austin is right that everyone is talented in the NFL, and there needs to be something to set a group apart. For the Steelers, he feels it’s their motivation to do whatever it takes on the field, and that involves doing a lot of the dirty work.
Austin, Miller, and Wilson aren’t the biggest receivers, but their lack of fear can help them play bigger. Even though he might feel it’s a complete room, the Steelers are looking to add to their pass-catching corps, with the team in trade talks for Jonnu Smith and hosting Gabe Davis for a visit. However, it can still be a room that’s better than it was last year.
For the Steelers offense to succeed, the receivers are going to have to show that edge and play above what their talent level may be. Putting their head down and doing the dirty work, whether it’s going across the middle or run-blocking, is going to be integral for the success of the offense. Calvin Austin feels that it’s a room that has the traits to be successful with what it has.
