While it’s just the first week of preseason, seeing the Steelers on the field was extremely refreshing. The whole team seemed to have a new energy about them. Even the Steelers preseason offense appeared to be moving smoothly.
While there were many individual signs of talent that will be discussed later, the main takeaway was that the offense looked competent. Pickett seemed cool and collected spreading the ball around and the playcalling seems to have improved from 2022.
The first drive featured a lot of passes and much less inside zone. The defense was most likely not playing their hardest, but it was still nice to see an offense move. The 27 points would have ranked 6th among Steelers scoring performances.
Pickett only played the first drive of the game, but that drive was insanely good. Pickett ended with a passer rating of 147.9 and threw for 70 yards in one drive. He also threw a touchdown strike to George Pickens to take the lead.
In training camp, many of the coaches and players have been commenting that Kenny Pickett’s arm is noticeably stronger than before. This was definitely noticeable on the first drive where Pickett was threading sideline throws to the far hash.
Pickens also didn’t get too many reps against the Buccaneers. However, he did have one catch for a touchdown. While this was just one play, Pickens showed some serious talent making a man miss to get into the endzone.
This team is desperate for any sort of YAC weapon. While Pickens was a good rookie receiver, he really struggled after the catch. It’s only one play but it can be really exciting for all the Steeler fans tired of watching Chase Claypool on screens.
The Steelers needed a YAC threat, and they got a YAC threat. Calvin Austin is straight up electric. His 4.3 speed was on full display on Friday. He blew by defenders and looked like a serious threat off of jet motion.
Austin lead the team in both rushing and receiving with just under 100 yards combined. This included a 67 yard touchdown catch where Austin ran straight past the defender.
Similar to Austin, McFarland has always had blazing speed. The problem with McFarland has always been the lack of vision and patience. It was a small sample size, but he did get four carries and a score.
If McFarland is able to improve his vision he could become an underrated contributor. As of now, the Steelers almost never call any form of wide zone runs. This is because both Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren are big, bruising backs that lack top end speed.
With McFarland in the game, wide zone is very much an available play. Running wide zone would significantly increase the running lanes for the inside zone as well. Next week would be great for the Steelers preseason offense to experiment with this.
While he only had one catch, Darnell Washington was an obvious presence on the field. His impact in the blocking game was definitely felt. More than anything though, this man just looks massive. He towers over linebackers and safeties. His potential is sky high.
Stay tuned for more exciting NFL content, including roster moves, in depth analysis, and more news from around the league.Â
Feature image courtesy of Steelers.com
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