Steelers' position coach plants his flag when asked who currently occupies the wide receiver number two role in Pittsburgh
There is a lot of talk about the Pittsburgh Steelers' wide receiver room. Part of that is because of DK Metcalf. The other part, however, relates to everyone not on the roster and the team's willingness to trade for another playmaker. But according to Steelers WR coach Zach Azzanni, the team has their WR #2 […]
There is a lot of talk about the Pittsburgh Steelers' wide receiver room.
Part of that is because of DK Metcalf. The other part, however, relates to everyone not on the roster and the team's willingness to trade for another playmaker.
But according to Steelers WR coach Zach Azzanni, the team has their WR #2 on the roster…
Zach Azzanni names Calvin Austin WR #2
"I mean, you know, it's funny everyone, I think, to your point, everyone overlooks number 19 [Calvin Austin III]," Azzanni told Mark Kaboly of The Pat McAfee Show on Wednesday. Guy [is] a legit NFL receiver. I know he's like, this big, [but he] just gets separation all over the field, and bites your face off in the run game. Nothing affects him. He's a great leader, so he can do a lot of things…
"…Everyone else is battling for a spot, and it's going to be a committee, which I'm okay with, because there's a lot of really cool little pieces there that are sneaky. So everyone's downplaying, underplaying our group right now. I love it that way. I don't really want anyone looking at us anyway. It'll be good. So I think that's the two spot. It's all Calvin's right now and really, you know him and DK [Metcalf] are such different players that there's going to be plays where he is a one guy [WR #1], because that's his route and vice versa because they're so different."
The wide receiver number two position in June is likely to look a lot different than the wide receiver number two position in September. That's no shot at Calvin Austin III, that's just the reality when the team has inquired about Chris Olave, will surely poke their nose around Terry McLaurin, and are all but assured to add another player to the room per multiple reports.
And that;s how it should be. WRs are relatively interchangeable. The days of the number one being the X WR and the number two being the Z are long gone. The more weapons and interchangeable parts, the better.
But the point remains true from Azzanni. Austin did have the best season of his career last year, and he showed an ability to get vertical and make splash plays for a team that has had very little in recent years.
That will always play.