Calvin Austin III Will Have the Biggest Rookie Impact With the Steelers In 2022
The Pittsburgh Steelers had an excellent draft in 2022. It was so good that PFF gave them the highest draft ranking among all teams (that is kinda scary). While you cannot be entirely positive about how a draft pick will pan out before the season starts, and maybe not even until they are well into their career, there are some very strong indicators based on prior experiences.
Breaking the Draft Picks Down
When you look at each individual draft pick to try to assess the player's potential impact you have to consider a number of factors. It is not just a prediction of how well you think they will play but also comparing that prediction against where they were drafted - how good of a value was that player? Sometimes teams trade up for a player and it is a bust - think of how the Rams traded Jerome Bettis to us for the 6th overall pick which they used on Lawrence Phillips (yikes). At the time you may not have predicted that Phillips would be a convicted criminal in three years and Bettis would go on to be a Pro Bowl player.
Steelers Best Rookie
In looking at this excellent draft class it was a tough one, I was sorely tempted to say, George Pickens, the wide receiver out of Georgia, was selected in the 2nd round. Pickens was widely considered to be a 1st round pick and perhaps the best WR in the draft. However, a knee injury and some off-field antics knocked his draft stock down and he fell to the 2nd round. Despite those concerns, he is still expected to perform at a very high level. He was definitely a steal in the 2nd round but when you compare expectation to value I think a different WR will have a bigger impact.
Calvin Austin, III
Austin was the Steelers 4th round pick out of the University of Memphis. Austin falling all the way to the Steelers was a surprise, most analysts had him going sooner and reportedly we stole him right out from under the Ravens nose (even sweeter). Austin likely went as late as he did because of his size, he is 5’7” and 170 lbs, quite a bit shorter than what is considered ideal for a WR. Chris Carter did a fantastic comparison of Austin to Tyreek Hill as they both came out of college. The similarities are striking and Austin is only a half-inch shorter.
If you hadn’t thought about it before, seeing the comparison helps to not overlook Austin for his size, in fact, he says it has been an advantage, a motivator for him. He admits to having a bit of a chip on his shoulder about his size. He had coaches telling him he'd never play serious college football or make it to the pros, he is spurred on by his own success and proving the doubters wrong.
Austin has the quickness, agility, and speed to be a game-changer. He was the third-fastest WR in the 2022 draft class, running the 40-yard dash in 4.32 seconds. While some critics might comment that he won’t be able to compete with the height of the NFL corners he will use his agility and quickness to beat them.
Austin has shown over and over that he is able to break free of coverage or win the fight inside to make himself a better target for his quarterback. His talents as a route runner inspired awe from those who competed against him. He is explosive and with just a slight movement he is able to use a simple side step to create space and free himself up.
Head Coach Mike Tomlin might have said it best, he quipped that when you are a small man in football your speed better show up in every aspect of your game.
Calvin Austin, III is the real deal and Pittsburgh is lucky to have him. With such a huge shake-up in the WR room, Austin will definitely have a chance to earn his playing time this season. When he does we are all going to see just how special he is.