The Pittsburgh Steelers are quickly approaching the second straight week of having Kenny Pickett as the team’s starting quarterback. After the performance last week, albeit not the best performance, we can still see glimpses of what the offense could become with the current talent on the roster. To have a chance on Sunday against Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Pickett must get the ball to his three receivers and get them in a groove early.
The Talented Trio
The Steelers have a huge amount of young talent, but wide receiver is one of the positions on offense that can boast it the most. With guys like Diontae Johnson, Chase Claypool and George Pickens you have one of the best young cores in the league. Sadly, both the individual stats for each player, as well as their combined stats, are not meeting expectations.
First, we’ll look at Johnson’s current numbers on the season.
Credit: @JSKOPhoto / Jordan Schofield
So far, Johnson has 28 catches on 50 targets with 267 total receiving yards. He is also averaging 9.5 yards per reception. These numbers don’t come as a complete shock as Johnson is viewed as the team’s number one wideout. Next, it’s time to view Chase Claypool and see how he measures up.
Credit: @JSKOPhoto / Jordan Schofield
Claypool is having a decent year in 2022, going 16-29 for 129 yards, and averaging 8.1 yards per reception. However, a player of his size 6’4’’, and 238 pounds should probably have more targets and receptions. Another player in a similar situation to Claypool is rookie standout, George Pickens.
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After the way he dominated in both training camp and preseason, everyone believed that Pickens was the next great superstar receiver for the black and gold. While that may be on the horizon for his future, he isn’t putting up the numbers in his rookie year that both he and the fans were expecting. As of this moment, Pickens has been targeted 28 times and has come down with the ball 17 times for 250 yards. He is also averaging a rather impressive 14.7 yards per catch. On just Pickens' stats alone, one would be led to believe that Pittsburgh’s offense would generate a lot of points and touchdowns. Somehow, this isn’t the case.
Airing Out Issues And Changes
Right now, the three wide receivers listed above have combined for just under 650 receiving yards yet have zero touchdowns to show for it. Only two passing touchdowns have been scored by Pittsburgh this year, and neither one of them was caught by a receiver. There are a few things to look at that can be rectified to give the Steelers a chance, not just Sunday but going forward in the season.
The first thing would be to shift towards a pass-heavy/pass-first offense. It’s clear that in terms of the offensive line, they’re a much better pass-protection unit than they are at run blocking. That means they should play to their strengths and air the ball out as much as possible.
Continuing on with the passing game, there needs to be a “dispersant of wealth” in terms of feeding the receivers. Johnson may be the first option, but he isn’t the only option. With twice as many targets as Claypool and Pickens combined, it might behoove both Pickett and offensive coordinator Matt Canada to look at the other two receivers sharing the field with Johnson.
This idea of shifting the offensive focus may have a lot of positives, but it doesn’t come without any problems. The biggest one would most likely be becoming one-dimensional. The Steelers managed to start 11-0 in 2020 with Ben Roethlisberger passing the ball more than running the ball. It may work a great deal of the time, but like in 2020, opposing teams will cue in on the lack of run game and make their adjustments.
Expectations Going Forward
We know that changes need to be made. Whether it’s a different rotation of players, different play calling or something else entirely, one thing is clear. Kenny Pickett knows the level of talent he has at his disposal, and that he has many options.
“We looked at it. Definitely going to tweak some things to get guys some opportunities. We have to execute and come out with touchdowns. We’ve got great talent out there that I have full faith in that will make plays," Pickett said. "We can be more aggressive in certain areas and mix it up. We will do that and get in the end zone.”
Hopefully, he reaches the end zone beginning on Sunday against the Buccaneers.
Do you think the receivers will get more involved starting on Sunday? Let us know in the comments.
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