NFL Training Camp: 10 most intriguing battles in 2023

#10, Pittsburgh Steelers – Primary return specialist

Candidates: Gunner Olszewski, Calvin Austin III & Jordan Byrd

NFL Training Camp: 10 most intriguing battles in 2023

There's not a lot to break down in terms of role. Looking at the track record in Pittsburgh and still a young core on offense, I’d say trying to settle on somebody who can provide some spark plays is a priority. But considering they moved on from Ray-Ray McCloud last offseason (after fumbling four times and the decisions they made during the season), you wonder how long their leash is for somebody who doesn’t get the offense the ball back reliably.

Olszewski is obviously the most established option, considering he’s returned 113 career punts and kicks combined. He was the first-team All-Pro return specialist in 2020 for New England, when he led the league with a massive 17.3 yards per fielded punt (thanks in part to a 70-yard house call), plus he averaged over 23 yards on kickoffs as a member of the Patriots. So no debate – he’s the guy, right?

Well, eight of the eleven opportunities he got came over the first month of the season. He muffed one punt against his former team which set up a touchdown and then he fumbled on another one, where he picked it up off one hop and danced around. That’s why Steven Sims took over from that point onwards, but he’s no longer on the team.

With the Steelers not taking the out in his contract and paying him two million this year, you’d think they still plan to use him as more than just a gadget player on offense though.

Austin is probably his main competitor. This is a guy I absolutely loved at Memphis, as somebody cooking DBs on a weekly basis and the only receiver I thought gave Sauce Gardner some trouble in college. Coming off nearly 2,300 yards and 20 TDs on offense over his final two collegiate seasons, he ended up being a fourth-round pick for a pretty stacked young WR room at that point.

The Steelers did bring in Allen Robinson this offseason to be their likely number three receiver, but I’d think they want to find ways to get the ball in the hands of this little dynamo.

Because he was the star on offense, he didn’t get a ton of opportunities to stand out in the return game, but on just 29 punts fielded in college, he put up 323 yards and got to the end-zone twice. It doesn’t perfectly translate that way, but he had a solid 6.3% drop rate as a senior, has 4.32 speed, and a 97th percentile broad jump to indicate his instant explosiveness.

The third name to keep in mind here is Jordan Byrd, who they picked as an UDFA this year. A true return specialist at San Diego State, he earned back-to-back first-team All-Mountain West accolades. Over the last three years, he’s scored four TDs on 110 total opportunities, averaging 26.8 yards per kick return & 6.5 on punts.

He kind of comes in the mold of another former Aztec in Donell Pumphrey (for anybody who remembers that guy setting the FBS all-time rushing record) at 5’7”, around 170 pounds. I don’t think the 4.5 quite represents his speed because he’s gaining ground on guys regularly not just on teams but also against DBs in pursuit on offense, while I really like his ability to not lose speed as he makes subtle adjustments to his running path.

While they may not be counted as broken tackles, the way he pulls his knees up high and fends off arm tackles allow him to clear those with regularity, without really getting held up at all.

So this could absolutely be a three-headed race here for this job, but of course, it’ll also depend on what value they think they can get out of these players on offense.

Looking at the WR depth chart, they signed XFL standout Hakeem Butler (who once upon a time was a super-intriguing prospect among many that the Cardinals have failed to develop) and Miles Boykin showed some promise early on with the Ravens but only caught two passes in Pittsburgh last year.

I was definitely surprised that they brought back Olszewski, although they could still eat the 620K to move on from him if Calvin Austin pops in camp, following a missed rookie season with a foot injury.

The X-factor is Byrd thanks to how effective he was in college but I don’t envision much usage as a running back or receiver. With Austin, it might actually be that they want to focus on offense, if they were to suffer any injury along their front three.

I think he ultimately earns the starting gig for punts at least, while Olszewski or Byrd get involved on kickoffs, depending on who makes it through the final cuts. The undrafted rookie might also come off the practice squad at some point if there are any issues with whoever wins out.

If you enjoyed this breakdown, please consider checking out the original piece and feel free to check out all my other video content here!

Twitter: @ halilsfbtalk

Instagram: @ halilsrealfootballtalk