LATROBE, Pa. -- if Kenny Pickett is going to take the expected step forward in Year 2 as the Steelers' starting quarterback, he is going to need a reliable cast of characters at wide receiver to spread the ball around to.
With Diontae Johnson poised for a bounce-back campaign, George Pickens expected to continue to take more strides into becoming an all-encompassing receiver beyond the spectacular catches, Allen Robinson bringing pedigree and a history of being a reliable weapon, and Calvin Austin providing another wrinkle with his speed and shiftiness, Steelers receivers coach Frisman Jackson has much to handle and many different combinations to mix and match in order to help maximize the passing game's production.
If Pickett is going to make the next step this season, then how can the receivers help him achieve that? I posed that question to Jackson in a one-on-one after the Steelers' walkthrough Sunday morning at Saint Vincent College:
“Just being reliable," Jackson said. "Being in the right spots, being where I’m supposed to be in the right time. That’s all we can control. We want to paint you that perfect picture, masterpiece picture for the quarterback, and we can only do that if we’re in the right spot at the right time. Continue to develop that chemistry with Kenny, with those guys. Working after practice, working before practice, in meetings, having conversations. If we can continue to do those things at a high level we can have a really good pass offense.
“I think it’s twofold. I think it’s both sides, us and him. If we’re in the right spots in the right time, he’s delivering the ball, he’s seeing what we’re seeing, if we’re all on the same page then we all eat. That’s the biggest thing. We’ve all got to be on the same page, we’ve all got to understand what we’re trying to do from an offensive standpoint and how we’re trying to attack the defense, and if everybody has that understanding then we can put good football on tape.”
The Steelers hit right around the league average in dropped passes in 2022 with 20 as a team, which ranked in a tie for 17th in the league and was right at the midpoint of the league leader (Green Bay's 30) and the team to drop the fewest passes (Atlanta's nine). Johnson dropped seven passes and no Steelers receiver had more than three behind him, so reliability was as much of the issue as play-calling and decision making from a then-rookie Pickett were, when it comes to the Steelers finishing with a bottom-10 passing offense in the NFL.
Jackson would, clearly, like to see far fewer drops, and that is expected to come with more comfortability growing between Pickett and the receivers.
The offseason brought change to that room in the form of the 29-year-old Robinson, who has dropped six total passes since the start of the 2020 season and has never dropped more than seven in a season in his career. He has caught a modest 58.6% of his targets in his career while showing relative durability with the exception of missing seven games last season with a fractured foot.
“(He brings) stability from a professional standpoint," Jackson said. "He knows what it means to be a pro, what a routine is. He sticks to the routine. He understands the difference between a routine and a ritual. He’s a process guy. He believes in the process, and so when those guys see a veteran guy whose had success in this league, as much success as Allen’s had, then they can look to that guy and be like, ‘all right, there’s a reason why he’s had that success. Let me find out the reason why he’s had that success.’ And they don’t have to look too far. Just look at his routine and how he goes about his business every day, and that’s something for them to mimic.”
Johnson's zero touchdowns in 2022 are an anomaly, and that surely will change in 2023. He has been the go-to weapon for this offense, but the expected rise of Pickett is also expected to bring a rise in Pickens as a potentially elite receiver in the league, given his already established freak-athlete capabilities.
Pickens is known to get up and get a ball from just about any point, but Jackson noted that Pickens still has more to develop within his game when it comes to running the intermediate routes.
“Just continuing to work on being a better route runner," Jackson said. "He’s putting in the work. You can see he’s been putting in the work in the summer, and just working on those things. Everyone knows he has the vertical aspect of his game, but if he can have that vertical element and then add on some of the other intermediate routes where he can threaten people with his speed and get that soft coverage and be able to work some stuff underneath, the sky’s the limit for him.”
As for Austin, Jackson noted his confidence is beginning to grow and he has shown growth in his ability to catch balls outside of the framework of his body. Whether it is to be noted for an individual or a collective, these are the details Jackson is meticulously tracking throughout camp.
"Last year you saw he didn’t really have that confidence that you’d want as far as catching the football with his hands and outside he framework of his body," Jackson said of Austin. "But you’re starting to see that now. It’s been very impressive. That shows the work that he’s put in this summer and how important that work that he put in and last season -- even though he was hurt -- him still being around and focusing on improving his game.”
MORE FROM PRACTICE
• The defense got back into the win column in seven shots, 5-2. Pickett connected with Cody White on an out route with Levi Wallace in coverage to lead off the session, but he was sacked by Alex Highsmith on Play 2 and missed Pickens and Austin in the back of the endzone on Plays 3 and 4, respectively. Mitch Trubisky found Darnell Washington sitting in a soft spot in zone coverage for a touchdown on Play 5, but he couldn't connect with Miles Boykin on identical plays to the right pylon on Plays 6 and 7. Boykin dropped Trubisky's final passing attempt.
• Sunday's practice went without pads, and many veterans earned a day off. Johnson, Robinson, Mason Rudolph, Isaac Seumalo, Cam Heyward, and T.J. Watt stood aside Sunday.
"You know how I feel about the off days. It's not necessarily about them, it's about the increased opportunity of those that are working, whether it's more reps to learn and/or show more of what they're capable of or more reps to develop and show conditioning," Mike Tomlin said.
• Damontae Kazee (foot), Keanu Neal (undisclosed), Joey Porter Jr. (ankle), and Nick Herbig (hip) did not practice. Tomlin said Tre Norwood is being evaluated for a lower-leg injury, and Ja'Marcus Bradley is being evaluated for a minor hamstring injury he sustained Saturday. DeMarvin Leal (ankle) was limited Sunday.
• For the first time in training camp, Minkah Fitzpatrick participated in 11-on-11 drills. He took part in seven-on-seven drills on Saturday, his first day back since leaving Latrobe to tend to a family matter.
• Kendrick Green was utilized with the third-team offense as a pulling lead blocker on a run for Anthony McFarland. Tanner Morgan took third-team reps at QB with Rudolph off.
• Nate Herbig took more reps at center, was the first-team left guard with Seumalo out, and played right guard with the third team in an 11-on-11 situation. He is really showing off his flexibility in this camp.
• Other notables to run with the first team in team situations: Austin and White were the first-team receivers, Markus Golden ran with the first team, and Chandon Sullivan saw first-team reps at slot cornerback while James Pierre worked on the outside in seven shots. Broderick Jones worked at left tackle while Dan Moore Jr. slid to the right side in an 11-on-11 period.
• You asked about a punter competition? Pressley Harvin boomed a 67-yard punt with 4.70 seconds on the hangtime, and Braden Mann immediately followed it with a 63 yarder at about 4.45 seconds. Harvin had a solid day on Sunday with respect to hang time and getting balls towards the sideline. If there was a leader to be tabbed, it's Harvin.
"We've got two NFL established, capable guys," Tomlin said. "I kid 'em because they're both Ray Guy Award winners (in college), so it's fun to watch those guys pit their skills against one another, but really it's a man versus himself battle. The ability to show consistency, the ability to directional punt the way that we desire, the ability to situational punt, redzone punting. Touchbacks are catastrophic analytically, for example. Those are some of the ways we are challenging those guys, and we will continue."
• The defense shut down the offense in two consecutive goal-to-go situations during the end-of-practice two-minute drill. Two chances, two four-and-outs came after Pickett connected with White for a 40-yard bomb on a broken play, after which Tomlin called for the ball to be placed on the 2-yard line.
Sullivan batted down a Pickett pass at he line of scrimmage to end the first go, and Elijah Riley was there to break up Trubisky's final attempt in the final redzone situation.
"That's the overriding purpose of seven shots, to be quite honest with you," Tomlin said. "To be able to apply it to other circumstances and keep a point total down, and so we spend a lot of time down that end of the field to try to familiarize ourselves with calls down there, and be in position to execute. things happen quickly down there. It was a good day for them in that regard."
