One of the surprising highlights to emerge from the Steelers' Friday night loss to the Texans was at the Steelers wide receiver position. Reporters and pundits highly criticized the Steelers for lacking depth at the receiver position. That's why they have been trying to trade for Brandon Aiyuk.
Calvin Austin III, a third-year receiver, made a resounding statement in the Friday night game. His performance indicated that he's ready to ascend to the next level and presented a compelling case for him to be the number two receiver behind George Pickens.
Calvin Austin had a big preseason game against the Texans
In Friday night's game, Austin led all the receivers in receiving yardage. He had three targets and two receptions but racked up 49 receiving yards and averaged 24.5 yards per reception. However, he would have had a touchdown on his third target if Kyle Allen had not overthrown him, as he was wide open in the corner of the end zone in the first quarter. The pass was just a little high, resulting in him landing out of bounds.
Fans had to like his performance, which bolstered some of the Steelers' chatter from Russell Wilson earlier in the preseason about how much he liked Austin. If the Steelers underutilized Austin in 2023, his performance on Friday Night indicates he is ready to take his game to the next level.
It's clear that if the Steelers give Austin more playing time and Russell Wilson or even Justin Fields throw to him, he could make some significant plays in 2024. Remember, he did rip off a 72-yard touchdown reception in 2023. His initial performance this year only served as a reminder of his potential to make multiple such plays.
We will need to wait to see how everything is sorted out, as many of the players still need to continue making impressions on Mike Tomlin in the next two preseason games. However, if the Steelers turn to Austin more in the preseason, it's hard to imagine him not getting bumped up to the number two receiver if he keeps playing at the level he did Friday night.