Carter's Classroom: Wide receiver Hunter is Sunday's player to watch

While Mark Kaboly has indicated that James Conner could be the main attraction when the Steelers play their second preseason game against the Falcons this Sunday, we take a look here at where a depth chart battle could take a serious turn at Heinz Field.



As you've been reading throughout the Inside the Lines series, recently acquired free agent Justin Hunter, came into training camp and turned heads with several big plays in team drills. He took advantage of the opportunity to get repetitions as the Steelers' number two receiver while Martavis Bryant awaited approval from the NFL to start practicing and Sammie Coates recovered from injury on the PUP list. That opportunity had him locking up with Ross Cockrell on a daily basis for a while, a matchup that favored the former early second-round pick of the Titans, as he leaped above Cockrell to win several jump balls.

Signing Hunter in free agency made perfect sense for Kevin Colbert to provide reinforcement to an offense that effectively lost three of its top five receivers due to injuries and Bryant's suspension. The offense with Ben Roethlisberger has benefited from having tall, fast receivers who take off the top of the defense as consistent deep threats combined with tough underneath route-runners who can pick apart softened zone coverage schemes or one-on-one man coverage. While the deep threat receiver forces defenses to use their safeties to protect from easy touchdowns, underneath receivers like Antonio Brown and Eli Rogers are given that much more space to roam within 10-15 yards of the line of scrimmage.

But that plan took a hit in 2016 when Bryant was suspended and Coates suffered multiple hand injuries that would make him irrelevant at the position for the rest of the season. It left Roethlisberger without a key component in a good offense that could've been even better. So after seeing those two go down, it only made sense to bring in another receiver who fits that mold without costing the team much. Hunter fit the bill as a red zone threat and a deep ball receiver for a bargain. And when both Bryant and Coates were made unavailable, yet again, at the start of the Steelers' training camp, Hunter showed what he could do.

While he did get the best of Cockrell and earned early praise in camp, Hunter suffered an injury that sidelined him for the first preseason game against the Giants and has cooled off a bit since, especially now that Bryant has returned and is taking repetitions in team drills. Now with Coates back in the fold as well, the competition is on for the last receiver spot.

The depth for this position has been the talk of the entire training camp. The Steelers have obviously reserved three spots for Brown, Bryant and rookie Juju Smith-Schuster, while they look to have six different reasonable options for three more spots at the position.

Between Rogers' connection with Roethlisberger, Darrius Heyward-Bey's veteran experience and knowledge of each receiver spot, the deep ball and red zone threats of Coates and Hunter, and the younger DeMarcus Ayers and Cobi Hamilton who gained experience last season despite starting on the practice squad, this is a race that is going to end with viable options being left off the Steelers' roster.

Hunter's path to make the team just got a little more steep this week when Coates returned, making him the third tall and fast combination of a receiver that the Steelers have to sort through.

This being his fourth team, if there was ever a time for Hunter to turn around his career, it is now. This is the first time he's had a chance to work with a seasoned franchise quarterback like Roethlisberger, and it may be his last if he doesn't make a good impression over the next three preseason games.

Hunter has to prove that he is indeed a solid deep threat who can take the top off a defense and win jump balls in red zone situations better than Coates, or show he is adequate enough at running the route tree that the combination of that and his deep threat abilities make him more valuable than at least three of the remaining five receivers we named on the depth chart.

It doesn't help that Hunter will most likely not have Roethlisberger to work with even once during a live preseason game, but if he's in with Joshua Dobbs, he will have a rookie who would love to heave 50/50 deep balls in single coverage for a chance at a big play or a touchdown.

Hunter will be up against the backup cornerbacks of the Falcons who are young and fast enough to run down the field. C.J. Goodwin is the fastest of the bunch and is slotted as the second man at the Falcons' left cornerback spot. Behind him is Blidi Wreh-Wilson, a former cornerback with the Titans whose 40-yard dash time was a 4.53 entering the league.

If Hunter is lucky enough to draw Wreh-Wilson, or anyone that isn't Goodwin, in single coverage outside the numbers, that could be the recipe for the big play that he's looking for to make the impression he needs to earn his keep.

The backups at right cornerback are both second-year players in Brian Poole and Deji Olatoye. Both have average speed for corners and can be beaten deep if Hunter can come out of his break strong.

Hunter's window to prove his worth is closing and it would be a reasonable assessment to say he's on the outside looking in to make the roster. He has the least experience with the team of any of the receivers who aren't Smith-Schuster and has two players who are presumably ahead of him that fill his role of a tall deep threat.

If Hunter lights up the Falcons' secondary, look for him to get another chance to do so against the Colts. He will need an impressive performance in both to make his mark and leave no doubt that he belongs on the roster.