New Steelers WR coach ready to work with draft picks George Pickens, Calvin Austin

He wasn’t on the job for three months as wide receivers coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Frisman Jackson was given two high-production players to add to his position group. The special treatment in the NFL Draft didn’t go unnoticed by linebackers coach Jerry Olsavsky.

“Jerry was making fun of me saying I get all of these new guys,” Jackson said last weekend after the Steelers added George Pickens and Calvin Austin III. “But I lost some guys in free agency in our room. We just added two pieces to the puzzle and, hopefully, they’re big pieces that can come out and help us win some games.”

That was the intent when the Steelers used the No. 52 overall pick to take Pickens, whose junior season at Georgia was limited to four games because of an ACL injury, and the No. 138 selection to take Austin, a former track sprinter who became one of the top receivers in Memphis history.

The Steelers needed to replenish the wide receiving corps when JuJu Smith-Schuster, James Washington and Ray-Ray McCloud departed in free agency. That left Diontae Johnson and Chase Claypool as the only returning regulars on the roster.

To Jackson’s benefit, general manager Kevin Colbert and coach Mike Tomlin gave him prospects with polar opposite pedigrees. Pickens stands 6-foot-3, weighs 200 pounds and was one of the country’s most sought after receivers coming out of high school. Austin is listed at 5-8, 173 pounds and didn’t receive a scholarship until midway through his redshirt sophomore season.

Given their respective sizes, it would make sense if the Steelers had Pickens line up outside and Austin play in the slot. That is not a certainty, however.

“We’re excited about getting to know the things that we can anticipate them being good at, but also not having them in a box and being open to being pleasantly surprised by some things that they might bring,” Tomlin said. “Pickens is a big guy that has a little guy stop-start. … Calvin is a little guy who has made some plays outside down the field. We’ll put those guys into the mix and coach them up, and we’re excited about what that potentially brings us.”

The task of developing Pickens and Austin has been entrusted to Jackson, who was hired when Ike Hilliard’s contract was not renewed. Jackson, a former NFL receiver with Cleveland and the New York Jets, will look to build on the experience he gained at six college programs, plus NFL stops in Tennessee and Carolina.

“The programs I coached, you had to develop guys,” said Jackson, whose Power 5 programs included Temple, N.C State and Baylor. “We weren’t able to get the 5-star guys. That’s in my background. That’s important to me. I get pleasure in seeing a guy as a young pup coming into this league or coming into college, and you see the developmental phase. You see the development of the player you think he can be. That’s important to me.”

Steelers scouts had an asterisk next to Pickens’ name when draft evaluations began a year ago. As a sophomore, he had 36 catches for 513 yards and a team-high six touchdowns, but he also had torn his ACL during spring practice and faced a lengthy recovery.

“Sometimes players in those situations, they just shut it down, get healthy and prepare for the draft,” Colbert said.

The Steelers were encouraged that Pickens took the opposite approach. He returned to appear in the final four games of the season for Georgia, contributing to the Bulldogs’ run to the national championship.

Although Pickens had just five catches for 107 yards and no touchdowns, his desire to get back on the field so quickly elevated his stock in the Steelers’ draft room. Pickens also provided clean medical reports at Georgia’s pro day, which Colbert, Tomlin and Jackson attended.

“He did a lot of things that we thought he would have been doing had he been healthy last season,” Colbert said.

Tomlin broke out one of his favorite sayings when discussing Pickens’ potential.

“Quite frankly,” he said, “we just think there’s a heck of a lot more meat on that bone.”

That also goes for Austin, who was recruited to run track — and not catch passes. He used his speed — and toughness — to become a two-year starter and four-year contributor for the Tigers.

Austin concluded his tenure at Memphis with back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons. He totaled 63 catches for 1,053 yards and 11 touchdowns in 2020 – his first full year on scholarship – and he maintained that consistency by catching 74 passes for 1,149 yards and eight scores in 2021.

Austin finished his collegiate career ranked second in Memphis history with 22 receiving touchdowns, fourth with 2,541 receiving yards and fifth with 156 receptions. He received an invitation to the Senior Bowl and ran the 40-yard dash in 4.32 seconds at the NFL Combine.

What caught Jackson’s eye when watching film of Austin was how he wasn’t afraid to go across the middle while risking collisions with much bigger defensive players. One play against Temple stood out.

“He was going to get the crap hit out of him, but he holds on and makes the catch,” Jackson said. “I worked at Temple, so I know the type of guys at Temple. There are some tough dudes at Temple. He was able to maintain the catch and make the play for his team. I can see the guy who can go across the middle and is not afraid of, ‘Hey, I might have to take this hit and alligator arm it.’

“He goes out and he attacks the football no matter where the ball is.”

The first opportunity for Jackson to work on the field with any of his receivers, including his prized draft picks, will come later this month when organized team activities begin.

“I can’t wait to get my hands on them and work with those guys,” he said.