The Pittsburgh Steelers enter the 2022 season in unfamiliar territory. Not only is Ben Roethlisberger no longer the starting quarterback, but Diontae Johnson comes in as the longest-tenured wideout. JuJu Smith-Schuster will no longer be in black and gold after five seasons in Pittsburgh. James Washington left town for the Dallas Cowboys after a disappointing tenure with the Steelers. The Steelers brought in Miles Boykin, former Ravens WR, as well as two more wideouts from the 2022 NFL Draft.
Additionally, the Steelers hired Frisman Jackson as the team's new wide receivers coach back in February. Ike Hilliard donned the position for the previous two seasons. In essence, it's virtually a whole new room other than the return of Johnson and Chase Claypool. Jackson, who spent time as a WR coach for a variety of colleges, has already made things clear on how he wants his WRs to play this season via Pittsburgh Tribune's Chris Adamski.
The more you can do, the more you can do. I tell these guys, we're all position-less players. We've got to be able to line up anywhere on the field. You can't just put yourself in one spot and say 'hey I'm an X' or 'hey I'm a Z' because you are going to limit your abilities of being able to do stuff. We've got some good guys on the outside. These guys' ability to be able to play different positions will help them in the long run.
Now, the Steelers will still have starters at each wideout position, whether it be in the X, Z, or slot. These starting assignments still seem up in the air for the most part, other than Johnson being locked into the 'X' spot. His savvy route-running though allows him to play anywhere on the field, including the slot. Jackson's emphasis on being 'position-less' may be a forecast of things to come in 2022.
Pittsburgh Steelers wide receivers, George Pickens (#14) and Tyler Vaughns (#80) participate in the organized team activities (OTA’s), Thursday, May 26, 2022 at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. | Abigail Dean / Pittsburgh Steelers
This coincides with the comments of OC Matt Canada throughout the offseason in the fact that the Steelers offense will look a bit different this season as opposed to last. A lot of this has to do with the fact that Roethlisberger is retired, as the team can now use a more mobile, agile quarterback in either Mitchell Trubisky or Kenny Pickett.
Beyond just that though, Canada likes his offenses to feature a lot of motion. That requires the skill position players to be versatile and essentially 'position-less.' A guy like Calvin Austin III may see a few carries in the form of motion handoffs throughout the season. Whether it's better or somehow worse, the Steelers offense in 2022 seems like it will be very different.
What are your guys' expectations for this offense in 2022? What needs to go well in order for the offense to improve? Let us know in the comments below!
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