The Pittsburgh Steelers made yet another addition to their wide receiver room, bringing in Super Bowl Champion Scotty Miller, who played last season with new Steelers Offensive Coordinator Arthur Smith in Atlanta. This may not be the big time player that Steelers fans are expecting to see added to the room, but with the addition, lays the ground work for bringing the "Legion of Zoom" to the Steel City.
The Steelers have been busy making big changes to the wide receiver room, including Miller, Van Jefferson, Quez Watkins and rookie, Roman Wilson. Add in Calvin Austin and George Pickens, and the new look Steelers receiving room is not only versatile, but fast, which may be an understatement according to an X post from 93.7 The Fan's Andrew Fillipponi.
"Steelers WR 40 times
Calvin Austin III 4.32
Quez Watkins 4.35
Scotty Miller 4.36
Roman Wilson 4.39
Van Jefferson 4.39
George Pickens 4.47
Room is a sprinter team. Could win an NCAA track and field title with these guys."
"Sprinter team" may be an understatement as the projected starters combined have an average 40-yard dash time of 4.38. In a new age NFL that focuses on speed and getting open down the field, the Steelers are doing all the right things for their new quarterback room that loves doing exactly that.
What Have the Steelers Been Up To?
It has been no secret that the Steelers have been building an offense around Offensive Coordinator Arthur Smith. With the addition of Miller, now four former members of the Atlanta Falcons are on Pittsburgh's roster. It's clear that Mike Tomlin and the Steelers are going all in on believing in Smith's plan for the offense. Smith shows an affinity for running the ball as a coach, where he has been within the top 10 in rushing in four of five seasons as an offensive coordinator. During a conversation about Smith's offense, Steelers President Art Rooney II characterized this.
"I think we have two high-performing running backs in Najee [Harris] and Jaylen [Warren]. They, along with an improving offensive line, can be the foundation of success going forward."
Behind Smith, the Steelers will utilize great running backs, versatile linemen, and wide receivers to make plays. They have worked exactly towards that mantra, drafting three versatile offensive linemen in the 2024 NFL Draft and bringing in big play, speedy receivers.
The additions of these speedy players also speaks to the confidence the Steelers have in their revamped quarterback room. Since 2016, Russell Wilson completes the deep ball at 42.4% percent of the time, and has 728 yards more than the next closest quarterback according to Next Gen Stats. Justin Fields also has been accurate with his deep ball as well, coming off a 2023 campaign in which he completed 60.3% of his passes from 20 yards or longer. Omar Khan and his staff deserve a ton of credit for creating strengths, on what has been a lackluster offense over the past few seasons, and building on those strengths.
The third area of importance of this new "Legion of Zoom" is on special teams. They already brought in Cordarrelle Patterson to be the mainstay return man. However, with the new kickoff rules, bringing in as many talented and speedy players as possible shows it's importance, which is where guys like Miller come in. Pittsburgh has supposedly pondered the idea of having Fields play some special teams snaps, but with this most recent addition, that thought should disperse. By having the versatility that the organization now has, it keeps teams off balance, and makes it more difficult for opponents to prepare for everything you have to throw at them during a week.
Pittsburgh has quietly been having a solid offseason. Though Miller isn't the big name receiver that fans were anticipating, he fits exactly what the team is looking for. With several weeks to go until the Steelers lace up their cleats for game day, this team looks much better than where they were following the loss to the Buffalo Bills in the playoffs last season.
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