LATROBE, Pa. -- This James Washington kid is settling in.
Early in training camp, the Steelers' second-round draft pick was making mistakes. He'd false start. He'd run the wrong route. He'd do a lot that validated Ben Roethlisberger's assessment at OTAs that Washington "looked a little raw."
But that is changing. As the Steelers prepare to break training camp Wednesday when they leave for their second preseason game at Green Bay, Washington is looking more comfortable.
That, too, has caught the eye of the quarterback.
"You see him getting better every day," Roethlisberger said. "I know early in camp he couldn’t get on the field with me and now we’re asking for him to be on the field, so he can get some reps, so we can see what he can do."
And the Steelers are trying to figure out ways to make that happen.
Brought in to essentially to be the replacement after deep threat Martavis Bryant was traded to Oakland for a third-round draft pick, Washington was viewed as an outside-the-numbers receiver who could get deep despite being smaller and slower than Bryant. He ran just a 4.54-second 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine at 5-foot-11 and 213 pounds. Despite that, Washington averaged a healthy 20.9 yards per reception on 79 catches last season at Oklahoma State, the best among players who had 50 or more receptions.
But with Antonio Brown and JuJu Smith-Schuster in place, the Steelers are trying to figure out the best combination to get all three on the field together. That has included working Washington into the mix as the slot receiver in recent days.
He's not unfamiliar with the spot.
"I wouldn’t say it’s new to me," Washington said of the slot. "But it’s something I never really did as much as I’m doing now. It’s been going good. It started at Oklahoma State when teams started doubling me."
He probably won't have to worry about that with the Steelers -- not playing on the same team as Brown, who draws constant double coverage. Smith-Schuster also could get more attention, as well, after catching 41 passes for 686 yards and four touchdowns over his final seven regular season games last season.
That duo has people talking about the Steelers as having the top receiving corps in the NFL despite Washington being a rookie. If he can replicate Bryant's numbers of a year ago -- 50 receptions for 603 yards and three touchdowns -- many would consider that a solid rookie season.
But if Washington shows he can play in the slot, the Steelers have all kinds of different options. And that might not bode well for some veterans hoping to make this roster once again.
Darrius Heyward-Bey and Justin Hunter are strictly outside guys. Eli Rogers was re-signed at the start of training camp but is strictly a slot guy and continues to recover from ACL sugery. He is currently on the Physically Unable to Perform List and could open the season on that list, meaning he wouldn't be available to play for at least the first six weeks.
Washington, Brown and Smith-Schuster all have the ability to play inside or out and some younger players such as Marcus Tucker and Damoun Patterson are pushing hard to secure roster spots. It gives the Steelers much more versatility in their top three receivers. Bryant was strictly an outside receiver. Now, when the Steelers break the huddle, their top three guys can go anywhere on the field.
The biggest question regarding the status of those veteran guys was the progression of Washington. And with Washington showing more and more, the Steelers might be a little more comfortable going with some of the younger guys behind Brown and Smith-Schuster.
Washington might not get as wide open as he did at Oklahoma State, but he's shown the ability to snatch the ball away from defenders in close quarters, even when the coverage is good.
"At this level, I’ve realized that you have to make combat catches because everybody is good at this level," Washington said. "You’re not going to get 10 yards of separation. At this level, it’s all about your hand usage and how good your hands are at the catch point."
That's something the Steelers pointed to when they made him the seventh receiver selected in this year's draft. The team has had some success taking receivers beyond the first round and developing them quickly.
Brown was a sixth-round pick in 2010 and has grown into being perhaps the league's best receiver, while Smith-Schuster was a second-rounder last year.
Of course, it helps having a player such as Roethlisberger running the show, which is why Washington was so eager to work with the future Hall of Fame quarterback early on, even when he wasn't necessarily ready.
"When we first started, I was going with Ben to kind of show him what I had and I would get in there and make a few errors," he said. "As practices have been going, I’ve been watching some of the other guys and meeting with the coaches and getting more familiar with the offense."
What kind of errors?
"Just mental errors like getting in and playing different positions and knowing the whole concept of our offense," Washington said.
Now, when he steps onto the field with Roethlisberger, he's much more confident. And it shows.
"If I get in with Ben, I’m going to make the most of the opportunity and take it and run with it."