Steelers WR gets strong place in the squad through small things

DENVER — The Pittsburgh Steelers' wide receiver room is wide open. With Roman Wilson out, the remaining reserve players have received more playing time in the preseason than would otherwise have been the case. Scotty Miller may have benefited the most from this. Close behind, however, is Dez Fitzpatrick, who had better arguments for the 53-man roster than anyone else.

For the Steelers, this team needs Gunner and a solid WR5. That could come from the outside, but Fitzpatrick has made two special teams tackles and has been the best Gunner throughout the preseason. Fitzpatrick's work as a Gunner and his surprisingly reliable performance as an outside receiver, including a 59-yard run on Saturday against the Detroit Lions, will get someone from the practice squad straight to the 53-man roster.

Fitzpatrick works in all coverage units and catches anything thrown at him. In addition, he is a willing blocker from the outside. Fitzpatrick has been in the Steelers' locker room for over a year now and has started to earn a living doing little things there. He is far from flashy, but Fitzpatrick does the basics well, and if he can play on special teams and block at a high level, he has a place on the team.

Miller also had some work as a gunner against the Lions. The Steelers know what Fitzpatrick brings to the table. They didn't need to see Fitzpatrick work as a gunner anymore, but as an outside receiver he worked well with the team's play-action concepts and used his big body to create easy separation at the catch point. Miller is redundant with some of the players they already have on the roster, and his skills could be used on the practice squad rather than the lower end of the roster.

It remains to be seen if the Steelers will sign someone from outside to play wide receiver. Well, it certainly seems to make sense. Fitzpatrick will have to wait and see if he actually makes the final roster, but there are plenty of positive signs pointing to him.