How Much Does Size Matter for Steelers Wide Receivers?
Alan Saunders examines how much height and size matter at wide receiver, using the Steelers' current roster as a case study. With DK Metcalf and Michael Pittman Jr. at 6-foot-4 on the outside and physical slot options in Jerry Brownard and Roman Wilson, Saunders argues the real advantage is not just height but the combination of size, jumping ability, strength, and body control. He contrasts Chase Claypool's struggles in contested catches with George Pickens' success despite being thinner, and explains why this receiver room's physicality after the catch could stress defenses all season, particularly on in-breaking and underneath routes in the West Coast offense.
Video Transcript
Hey folks, good morning and welcome to another episode of Steelers Morning Rush.
I'm Allen Saunders.
It is Thursday, September 3rd.
Pittsburgh Steelers have their final practice of the week at UPMC Mercy Sports Complex on the south side.
Was supposed to be a padded practice, but it is raining in Pittsburgh today.
So, we will see if they decide to practice outside in the rain or if they move inside, it will probably not go in pads.
Anyway, we'll see either way.
Talking to Mike McCarthy, one last time before practice today and and then open locker room afterwards me, Brennan, Thompson over on the south side.
Actually Ed's Ed's probably not coming in today.
Ed's going under the weather so we'll get him the day off.
But me and Brennan are on the south side.
Show the product support from Brennan here on the YouTube channel a little later and then me and some of you on afternoon drive as always.
Um today I want to talk about a question we got uh that It's it's long and I can't read it.
But the gist of the question is how much does size alone matter at the wide receiver position.
And if you don't know the Steelers they're they're big this year.
They've got 6'4 wide receivers at both the X and the Z.
And in the slot they have I mean I think Jerry Brownard is about 6'4.
Maybe Roman Mossan a hair less than that.
but those guys are pretty normal size for slot receivers and two really big targets on the outside.
And it's a good question, how much does having that size matter?
How much is it a benefit?
And how difficult is it to overcome?
So, I would say there's there's never only one way.
in football.
And I think this is a perfect example of that.
If I was going to build you the archetype of the ex-receiver, it would certainly include height.
You know, you're talking about someone to run vertical routes, someone to win contested catches, someone to take the top off a defense, be difficult to press at the line, be able to beat double coverage.
And that's the job of of of a big ex-receiver.
And you know, the sort of the guy I think of when I'm building one of those in my head is like Terrell Owens, Randy Moss, KeSean Johnson, Michael Irvin.
Um, that's that's your ex-receiver.
That guy who is tall, fast, deep threat strong physically, difficult to jam, can do it all.
But also one of the best seasons by an ex-receiver in the NFL in the last 10 years was from Tyreek Hill who is 5'8" ish, I don't know, whatever they call him.
Um, so there always ways around almost any physical limitation on the football field.
If you have enough other attributes.
What height really gets you is you don't have to be that good of a jumper, right?
Because really you got to combine height and vertical.
If you're If you're tall, but you're not a very good jumper, then being tall isn't that big of an advantage.
And if you're short, but you're an outstanding jumper, being short isn't that big of a disadvantage.
But if you're short and you can't jump, you're probably in a bad way.
You know, so like that can very quickly offset height.
I think strength, play strength, based on the way that most ex-receivers play, play strength is important as well.
What height gets you is the ability to be in a contested catch situation.
But just being in contested catch situations doesn't mean anything if you're not strong enough to win them.
Chase Claypool is a very good example of that.
A tall receiver who is not very good at winning contesting catches.
And Chase Claypool was not a wiry guy.
George Pickens much better at contesting catch situations.
Was far thinner than Claypool was.
And I think they were about to same height.
The difference was Pickens was an outstanding jumper.
Pickens also had outstanding body control.
But he did not have brute strength, um but he was able to win with jumping, height, speed, and body control was his real superpower.
So, you can see there's there's lots of different ways to get there.
I don't think you have to have height.
Um.
But I think there are areas where height is very useful.
One is just it definitely limits what's in the playbook for certain defensive back.
If you've got Beanie Bishop he's never going to cover Michael Pittman, Jr. doesn't matter how good he covers him, right?
Because it's just the the Physics don't line up.
And there are some teams with smaller corners that you have a real hard time playing a lot of press man against a team with two six with four outside guys.
And so there is a structural advantage to the size the Steelers have.
I also think tall guys generally speaking, not always, but generally speaking, um are better than the red zone.
Much of what happens happens in the red zone is, the defense gets compacted.
And so you can't take the top off it anymore.
Now, one of the ways an offense makes space in a defense is by running some player through it to create softer areas underneath.
So, in the in the red zone, you can't do that.
You're not going to create those soft areas.
You're going to have to beat tighter coverage.
And I think it is much harder to use a player like Tyron Cage in the red zone, like a Calvin Austin in the red zone, then it is a player like a pickman or a Metcalf or a Donnell Washington, which is a real advantage when you get somebody that big.
Although Donnell does not jump all that well, so I think actually Stephen Shields probably overstated how impactful.
I mean, he's only 4 inches taller than those guys.
And I think they jump more than 4 inches higher.
So, it's not probably it's that big of a difference, but you know you can't you can't and then the the last part of it is they have to tackle them too.
Now for me this is where size becomes you know not just talking about height nobody ever thought George Pickens was tough to tackle Juju Smith Schuster sure was DK Metcalf and Michael Pittman sure are.
They're not just tall, they're like strong well-built guys that are really hard to bring down.
And I think that's really the thing that I when I see the Steelers wide receiver room is they're they're tall, but they're tough.
And I think that's the the big weapon that they have where all of their best attributes are on in-breaking routes and short From Bernard to Wilson, to Pittman, to Medcalf.
All four of those There isn't a go ball guy in there.
DK can do it, but it's not what he's best at.
All of them are best over the middle and underneath.
And that's what the West Coast offense is all about anyway.
It's just replacing the running game with a short passing game.
And so, if you If you take the ball and put it in those guys hands, those those big receivers plus Washington and Franklin, plus Dalton and Warren, two really tough running backs to tackle.
I think you really stress out of defense to make those tackles over the course of the game.
To To make those tackles in space over and over and over again because if you miss one, you know, the difference is when you have a tall, fast receiver who's also strong.
I'm not going to watch this case.
Let's say DK Medcalf.
If you throw a slant to DK Medcalf and the safety misses the tackle, it's a touchdown.
From anywhere on the field.
And that is a real pressure that's put on a defense that I don't think we've seen the Steelers have that kind of weapon maybe ever.
Like this is by far the biggest and strongest wide-receiver room I can remember the Steelers having.
And and I those two guys in the slot are not nearly as tall, but they're both very tough and very physically mature even though they're younger guys.
And I think there's they're just as hard to bring down as the bigger ones.
And and Jerry Bernard has shown that certainly over the course of his first preseason.
Roman Wilson has seen that from him in college.
And so I think that is really the way the Steelers have constructed this wide receiver room, but it's it's never the only thing.
There's always many ways to do things and yeah, so that's that's a good question and an interesting topic and maybe we'll talk to one of those guys today.
So sounds good.
That's it for this morning.
Practice coming up Brandon after practice, me and Sammy 5:00, normal Thursday here on the site.
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Until next time.
Thanks for listening.
Thanks for watching and enjoy.
