On offense, the Pittsburgh Steelers have found things difficult in recent years. It has drawn the ire of many, including The Athletic’s Derrik Klassen, who’s criticized the unit plenty. However, after some of the moves this offseason, Klassen does finally see some reasons for optimism.
“I genuinely can’t believe I kind of want to watch the Steelers offense… Last year, you could not convince me that there was a world where it would be fun or good. Like, all they had was DK Metcalf,” Klassen said Tuesday on his Athletic Football Show. “Now, there are at least other pass catchers there, and there’s some amount of new… You can convince me to watch it this year.”
Things were certainly ugly at times last year. The offensive line had some question marks, and it got off to a pretty brutal start with Aaron Rodgers being sacked seven times over the first two weeks. The Steelers’ tight end room was a jumbled mess too often, and there simply wasn’t much for Rodgers to work with out wide.
However, the Steelers have continued to invest in the line. While we still don’t know what it will look like, there are more reasons for optimism up there. Rodgers will also be operating an offense he’s very familiar with under Mike McCarthy. And out wide, Klassen is especially confident in Michael Pittman Jr.’s ability to impact the Steelers offense.
“I think Michael Pittman’s really good in the one to 10 [yards]. And that’s all Rodgers wants to do,” Klassen said. “Literally any of the routes where a guy has to sit in zone. Stick routes, spot routes, running to the right spot on drags… Did they have a guy like that last year?”
Klassen is right that Pittsburgh didn’t have a player with Pittman’s skill set last year. The Steelers tried it with DK Metcalf at times, but defenses were able to pay him far too much attention. Neither Calvin Austin III nor Roman Wilson were able to be in the right spot enough for Rodgers’ liking. And while the Steelers tried to stick Adam Thielen in that role late in the year, he couldn’t make a sizeable impact either.
Pittman can do those things very well. His ability to play smart and get in the right spots helped him produce with lackluster quarterback play throughout his time in Indianapolis. And he’s not alone, either. Germie Bernard isn’t the same exact type of receiver, but he has a lot of similar traits. At the very least, Rodgers has an upgraded receiving corps to work with.
Whether or not the Steelers are actually dangerous offensively, we’ll have to see. Klassen isn’t sure he’s that confident in the unit yet. But he is impressed with some of the talent the Steelers collected on their offense.