Steelers WR roster bubble: Miles Boykin
The Steelers receiver room is a weird one. There are three locks, a virtual lock in Calvin Austin, and beyond that one or two free spots left. Of all of the names left around, Miles Boykin is a logical name to stick around. He is a valuable special teams player and is arguably the best blocker on the team.
You could do much worse than having him on the roster as your fifth receiver. Add in his immense special teams value and I would argue that Boykin is on the inside of the roster right now. A few things could quickly mess up those odds though.
For starters, Austin, or someone else making the roster, needs to do enough to be the primary return man. That will leave Gunner Olszewski as the main returner and a lock to make the roster. That means one less position for Boykin to potentially occupy, and he would be missing from the roster altogether if they only keep five players.
The other issue is Hakeem Butler. While he has yet to prove himself as a pro player, he was a dynamic threat in the XFL last year. He is a similar height-weight-speed player (arguably a freakier player than Boykin) and could prove to be an offensive and special teams threat.
While Boykin was a great special teams player last season, he wasn’t a great offensive weapon. While being a pure special teams player is fine, he could be worked off this roster if Butler can prove to be an effective special teams and weapon on offense.
While Boykin is likely a safe name as of now, his seat certainly isn’t secure. The Steelers can go in a few different directions with their receiving room. Boykin has value and familiarity with the team, but if some other names prove their value, Boykin could be shuffled off the roster.