The Official Calvin Austin III Thread

I don't know ANYTHING about him. What can we expect?

https://www.nfl.com/videos/calvin-austin-iii-runs-40-yard-dash-at-2022-combine

 

What can we expect? Speed

 

Good hands? Good route runner? Goes forward after the catch and not backwards?

 

Hasn’t played a snap in the nfl so none of the above

And injured

 

Agreed. He has great speed, but he really was a complete receiver in college. I am concerned about the foot injury, but not due to his size. Foot problems tend to be more common the bigger a person is, not smaller, due to the weight on the foot. That said, foot problems are not easy to recover from regardless of your size.

 

He’s a tiny man and has already missed a year with injury. I wouldn’t hold my breathe.

 

You do realize that his size is irrelevant to the injury he had, right? Being small actually makes foot injuries less likely, not more.

 

I think he will come back stronger and better then ever

 

We have only discussed this 37 times. Yes you have informed me. I’m not talking about his foot I’m taking about his tiny diminutive stature and counting on him to contribute.

 

All of the above. He’s definitely a speed guy but he’s also a pretty well rounded receiver and not just one dimensional. I’m looking forward to seeing what he can do.

 

I did a search on the Google and couldn't find any studies or statistics that support the claim that smaller players get hurt more often. To the contrary, actually. Some of what I read claimed that players with a higher BMI are more likely to get injured. Of course there are a lot of variables that play into a study of that nature. Point being, right now there doesn't seem to be any reason to question his durability.

 

Khan does not agree with you on this one.


Now Healthy, Steelers 'Expecting Great Things' from Calvin Austin (steelersnow.com)
Speaking at the 2023 NFL Combine in Indianapolis on Tuesday, Steelers general manager Omar Khan said that Austin is expected to be fully healthy for the start of OTAs and that the team has confidence in his ability to make an impact this fall.
“We’re expecting great things from Calvin,” Khan said. “He’s progressing nicely. We’re excited about him being on the field here in the spring when we get back to football. We’re excited to have him.”

 

Your post above implied that the injury and his size were connected. Perhaps that was not your intent.

 

There are shorter guys than Austin in the NFL. There are thinner guys than Austin in the NFL, like Davonte Smith. Of course, losing a season to injury is a concern, but I think the size issue has been blown out of proportion.

 

I would answer, but then You would want to accuse Me of following You around. LoL

 

Even if he's healthy I don't think he will be a guy who gets a lot of targets, more likely to catch a few passes a game, or run some jet sweeps.

 

Huh?

 

Why? Austin was not a gimmick player at Memphis. He isn't going to win contested catches, but can certainly produce as a slot guy.

 

Maybe he will be, but at his size I would be concerned about him holding up to the rigors of the NFL.

 

DeVonta Smith is every bit as skinny and he hasn't missed a game in two NFL seasons.

 

CAII is a player I still believe greatly in among his 2022 classmates. If anything, including Kenny Pickett, CAIII was my favorite and I had hoped to see him in Year One. Sadly, that would not come to be. Year two hopefully will be different but I would also elect to draft someone in case something happens again. Reminder that the main plan for the 2022 team was to have Diontae as the X, Chase/George as the Y and have Anthony Miller/CAII/Steven Sims as the Slot. However, due to the inefficiency of Mitch Trubisky and the continual decline of Chase Claypool (who would then be traded), Pittsburgh had exclusively relied on Diontae, George and Steven Sims (Anthony Miller was out for the season by this point as well). Add in Kenny and some of his early season struggles and the WR Corps looked a hot mess... but not because of the talent. It is just that the WRs themselves were not in the correct roles; some games even having Pickens in the slot!!



This season, here is hoping that the Steelers have learned the value and importance of adding a fail safe. While some may state that Pat Freiermuth is the "fail safe" I beg to differ for multiple reasons; the most notable being that Freiermuth's talents are to best used down the middle to deep middle of the field and/or acting as a security blanket for young Kenny. Now, CAIII should be the incumbent starting slot role right?!... well.. without seeing him in live NFL Game Action, it is difficult to state how well he would fare. Omar Kahn did give him a vote of confidence during the Combine but that does not mean Pittsburgh has stopped looking for slot based options. If anything, them being in contact with the likes of Jaxson Smith and Jordan Addison tell me that the Steelers are only beginning in terms of finding another slot based option should CAIII be unable to go in 2023.

 

Either way Austin will be like the 5th or 6th option on offense .