The Steelers have one of the deepest and most talented wide receiver groups in the NFL. It's not the best overall group, but it's solid across the board.
And the depth of that unit -- on which the team used a first-day pick in each of the previous four years -- might have tempted the team to try to throw the ball more than it probably should have in 2020.
But with the addition of Najee Harris in the draft and the replacement of Randy Fichtner as offensive coordinator, the Steelers have made clear their intent to run the football more and more effectively in 2021. In fact, they have a mandate to do so from Art Rooney II.
How does that sit with the team's wide receivers, a group Ben Roethlisberger said was one of the reasons he wanted to come return for an 18th season?
"That group is a fun group," Roethlisberger said. "That is one of the reasons I said I wanted to come back is because that is a special group and I’m excited to see what they can bring to this offense and this team this year."
Roethlisberger averaged just over 40 pass attempts per game in 2020, something that led to the Steelers having four players with 50 or more receptions and six with 30 or more catches.
In 2021, however, if less is more for Roethlisberger, that also will mean less is more for the wide receivers. They might get fewer catches, but they will be of higher quality.
At least one of the receivers is OK with that.
"As a group, we’re just wanting to win," James Washington said Wednesday as the Steelers completed the fifth day of their 10 OTA sessions. "If we get three or four catches, as long as we get the win, we’ll take that any day."
That might not have been the case in previous years -- particularly in the days of Antonio Brown. Brown demanded the football on a regular basis. Heck, even Hines Ward used to wonder what his stats would have been like early in his career had the Steelers thrown the ball more.
Those Steelers teams didn't have the depth at wide receiver this one does. Washington, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Dionate Johnson and Chase Claypool are a group that many quarterbacks around the league can only wish they had.
The interesting thing this year seems to be how that group might be used.
"One of the things I like about this team, receivers can play any position," Washington said. "You’re not just a Z, you’re not just an inside or outside guy. You might play there primarily, but you can always move around. I think we’re getting fluid moving around and keeping guys out there."
Even if the pass attempts don't figure to be as prevalent as they were a year ago.
• There has been a lot of talk about the Steelers, who won the AFC North with a 12-4 record last season, falling far behind the Browns and Ravens this season given some of their offseason losses. Heck, one national pundit even predicted the Steelers will finish behind the Bengals in the AFC North standings.
Don't think the Steelers haven't seen some of that.
"We're in an opinion-based world," Cam Sutton said. "You're not seeing what I do on a daily basis. I'm not going to concern myself with what people say. But it can fuel the fire.
"The outside noises will always come. If it doesn't matter to you, then it doesn't matter to you."
It might not matter in the grand scheme of things, but they do hear it.
"People are going to say what they want to say," Washington said. "At the end of the day, we’ve got to do what we do. If that’s coming out and kicking butt all day, no matter how young we are, we’re going to play to the best of our ability."
The Steelers have seldom found themselves in this position. They haven't had a losing season since 2003, the year before they selected Roethlisberger in the first round of the draft. And even when they haven't made the playoffs during that stretch, they've been in the running for a postseason spot late into December.
It's not often the Steelers get a chance to sneak up on people.
Roethlisberger, who likely could be playing his final season with the Steelers, isn't interested in a rebuild.
"I wanted to come back to be a part of what I think is a special football team that everyone is overlooking, which I think is cool, too," the quarterback said.
• Earlier in the offseason, Smith-Schuster spoke about playing more on the outside in 2021. He averaged a career-low -- by far -- 8.6 yards per catch last season, and not because he can't play any more.
The idea for the Steelers in Matt Canada's offense to Washington's earlier point seems to be get three or four wide receivers on the field and then shift them around pre-snap.
Why?
"Formations will be a little different, but I think it will help us because it will help us line up in different positions, move people around pre-snap and get the matchups we want against certain guys," Washington said when asked about the differences in the new offense from the old.
It becomes a game of chess. And in this case, if you can get one of your pawns -- say a fullback -- on the outside matched up against the opposing team's queen -- in this case, the top cornerback -- that's a win. You're then playing 10-on-10 football and taking their best cover man out of the equation with a player who isn't much of a receiving threat.
The Steelers wide receivers are all talented. And Najee Harris gives them another receiving option there, as well. They can put enough players who are dangerous receiving threats on the field that somebody should have a mismatch.
And that could mean that even though Smith-Schuster might still line up primarily in the slot, there could be times when he shifts outside to get somebody else a good matchup. Think about Claypool in the slot matched up on most nickel corners. That's a mismatch all day long.
• Some have asked why the Steelers would learn Canada's offensive play names and not just go old names if the plays are so similar.
It's a good question. It seems to me the team really wants to get everyone bought in on this being a new and different offense in 2021. So, to do that and make it happen, you toss out all the old names for things, many of which date back to the Bill Cowher era.
That also forces everyone to buy in on making sure they learn the new offense and its nuances. For example, Roethlisberger can't simply revert to calling things by their old names because the new guys won't know what that is.
Everyone has to be fully immersed.
Sutton, a defensive player, explained it the best.
"It can be challenging. I’m not going to sit here and say it can’t be," he said. "Obviously, knowing what terms go with different formations or the play call in itself. That comes back to accountability to yourself, taking the time to get into your book, taking your time in the offseason."
• We're now halfway through these OTA sessions. The mandatory minicamp will follow. Then, the Steelers will be off until the start of training camp in late July at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe.
But I'm not seeing anyone with their head swimming at this point. And it would be something you'd notice. Plays would have to be run again. Players would be getting coached up more than usual after a given series or play.
That really doesn't seem to be happening.
The credit for that goes to Canada.
"He knows everything is new to us, so he’s taking it kind of slow, getting us acclimated with it all," Washington said. "The door is always open. He’s willing to help guys so that we can all play fast once that first game gets here."
That's why a lot of the veterans weren't here for the first week of OTAs. They were told to give that week to the rookies, who were coming off rookie minicamp.
After two weeks of integrating the rookies into the new offense, the veterans have now been added back into the equation.
But the key is getting Roethlisberger and the rest of the quarterbacks comfortable with what's happening. And they've been here the entire time.