Could Scotty Miller be the secret ingredient that spices up the Steelers passing game?

When I was at Steelers’ training camp in early August, there was a play in an 11-on-11 session that I made a note of in the practice journal I was keeping.

The down and distance for this play was 3rd-and-5. The Steelers’ offense lined up in a 3×1 set with Scotty Miller as the slot to the trips. Miller was joined by Pat Freiermuth at tight end and DK Metcalf and Calvin Austin III split wide. Miller motioned across the formation to create a 2×2 set, and the defense bumped coverage, sending safety DeShon Elliott out with him. At the snap, Miller ran hard inside, like he intended to cross the field, and Elliott went with him. Suddenly, Miller hit the brakes and pivoted back towards the flat. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers anticipated Miller’s “whip” route, and got the ball out quickly. Miller caught it just shy of the sticks, then turned up-field for a few steps before Elliott brought him to the ground.

First down, offense.

There was nothing sexy about the play. It wouldn’t make anyone’s highlight reel, nor warrant attention by any of the beat writers. But it spoke volumes about who Scotty Miller is, and why he could be so valuable to this year’s offense.

It’s no secret the Steelers have operated a fairly basic passing game the past few years. They’ve subsisted on a diet of flat routes, check downs, the occasional mesh concept, and a bunch of jump balls to former top wideout George Pickens. If Pittsburgh’s passing game had been a menu item, it was boiled chicken. No spice. No sizzle. Nothing to excite your taste buds.

There are several reasons for this. The most obvious has been the quality of the quarterback play. The cast of candidates to replace Ben Roethlisberger since his retirement in 2021 — Mitch Trubisky, Kenny Pickett, Mason Rudolph, Russell Wilson and Justin Fields — have all been limited in one capacity or another. For some it’s been an issue with processing. For others accuracy. Or the speed of their release. Or an inability to use the middle of the field.

As a result of these limitations, or perhaps limitations of their own, the coordinators have struggled to build a creative passing game. Matt Canada was, in the words of an NFL scout I spoke with at the Combine in February, “the worst offensive coordinator at the pro level I’ve ever seen.” Enough said there. Arthur Smith, in his first season in Pittsburgh in 2024, didn’t have the pieces to run the offense he prefers, and the results followed suit.

The receivers have played a big role in the state of the passing game, too. Pickens was talented, but whether by design or ability, ran a fairly basic route tree. The surrounding cast lacked a running mate who could take pressure off of him, or stretch a defense horizontally. Pittsburgh has not been good enough at the wide receiver position to compensate for their shortcomings in the passing game elsewhere.

Will that change in 2025? It’s too early to say. But we’ve seen some encouraging signs.

Metcalf, the prized trade acquisition, is bigger and runs a more advanced route tree than Pickens. He should command safety help on plenty of snaps, allowing other receivers to operate more freely. Roman Wilson, in limited reps, has flashed the potential that has convinced many in the organization he can be an impact player. Austin III showed growth in his game before a nagging lower body injury set him back the past few weeks. And Ben Skowronek is a scrappy, rotational player who will do the dirty work necessary in an offense like Pittsburgh’s.

The most technically proficient player in the group, however, and the one who seems the best candidate to spice up the passing game, is Miller. The route he ran at camp I described above was an option route, whereby Miller read the leverage of the defender covering him, then broke opposite. Had Elliott not followed Miller on his initial move, Miller probably would have sat down over the ball between the safety and the near linebacker. Either way, he would have made the defense wrong.

That’s what makes the option route so valuable. If a receiver reads coverage correctly, and the quarterback is on the same page, they can exploit a defense no matter how it reacts. Rodgers famously loves option routes, and made a living off of them while in Green Bay. His favorite target on those routes was Jordy Nelson, who was bigger than Miller but possessed a similar feel for finding the voids in a defense. Miller has shown that ability all summer, both at training camp and in the team’s pre-season games. Miller had nine catches for a team-leading 167 yards, averaging 18.5 yards per catch. Miller was a favorite target of Tom Brady when they were together in Tampa Bay during the Bucs Super Bowl run in 2020, and has already built a solid rapport with Rodgers. It’s his high football IQ that the two Hall of Fame quarterbacks value.

Take this play from Thursday night’s pre-season finale against Carolina. With just seconds remaining before halftime, the Panthers were anticipating short throws to the boundary from Pittsburgh. But Miller ran a straight “Go” route past the near safety, and hauled in Skylar Thompson’s throw for a 53-yard gain. It’s what Miller did immediately after the catch that was most impressive, though.

Watch below as Miller goes to the ground in an attempt to end the play and allow the Steelers to call timeout. He knows he’s caught the ball in field goal range, and rather than waste time fighting for extra yards, he opts to stop the clock. When Miller believes the play is still alive, he gets to his feet and charges towards the sideline so he can get out of bounds before time expires.

Skylar Thompson airs it out to Scotty Miller for a gain of 53 yards

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That kind of situational awareness hasn’t always been the norm at the wide receiver position in Pittsburgh. In this case, the clock did stop, and the Steelers kicked a field goal to end the half.

Miller may not be a game-breaker for Pittsburgh, but he won’t have to be. If his ability to read coverage can mesh with Rodgers, he could be a crucial chain-mover on 3rd downs, and a player Rodgers looks to as a security blanket. The Steelers have enough splash players in their offense. They need savvy veterans who do ordinary things extraordinarily well. Scotty Miller may be that man.

For more of my work, follow me on X @KTSmithFFSN, and tune in to my “Call Sheet Daily” podcast every Monday-Friday on most major platforms.