Cedric Tillman makes a 28-yard touchdown reception.
The quest for Chase Claypool’s heir apparent continued for the Pittsburgh Steelers on Friday, April 14, when they hosted Tennessee Volunteers’ Cedric Tillman.
At 6-foot-3, 215 pounds, Tillman is big-bodied, strong and possesses good lateral quickness for his size. He comes from NFL bloodlines, as his father was Cedric Cornell Tillman, taken in the 11th round of the 1992 NFL draft by the Denver Broncos. He had a brief but respectable career as a depth receiver. The younger Tillman is projected as a third or fourth-round selection.
“Would love that pick for them,” 93.7 the Fan and KDKA Radio’s Josh Rowntree tweeted. “[He] Would have been a first-round pick if not for an injury his senior year. He’s a combat catcher, sure-handed, versatile. Big, strong frame. When healthy, had monster games against Bama and UGA in 2021. Lots to like.”
After a redshirt freshman year and a quiet first three seasons, Tillman finally emerged with a stellar collegiate career that yielded 1,622 yards on 109 catches (14.9 ypc) and 17 touchdowns. In his last full season in 2021, he put up five 100+ yards games, including impressive outings versus two of the SEC’s top programs in Georgia (10 catches for 200 yards and a touchdown) and Alabama (seven catches for 152 yards and a touchdown). He also set a Vols record for consecutive scores in a single season with seven and became the first 1,000-yard receiver since 2012, according to Patrick Brown of 247 Sports’ Go Vols. His total production would be higher had it not been for a devasting high ankle injury suffered in the third game of 2022 that limited him to just six appearances.
Tillman offers the size, skill and competitive fire that teams love in a receiver, but it’s that fire that might’ve hindered his draft stock; he chose to have surgery and return for Week 8. “It might have been easy for Tillman to have just shut it down after his debilitating injury,” Brown wrote. “From an NFL standpoint, he had a strong 2021 season to point to, and appearing in the Senior Bowl fully healthy and going against other top NFL prospects might have helped him more than playing hurt late in the year. But it’s not what Tillman wanted to do.”
Tillman had a hunger to get out on the field for his teammates.
“Just the competitor in me,” he said of his desire to return. “I wanted to come back a few weeks before. I did everything I could to try to go out there. I knew I wasn’t maybe not quite right, but I wanted to fight for my team. You’ve got to go out there, everybody’s nicked up and bruised up toward the back half of the season, so hopefully my teammates appreciated it, but that’s just the competitor in me wanting to go out there and play.”
Visits are just visits and don’t necessarily mean Tillman’s future is in the black & gold. But it’s all but a guarantee that Pittsburgh will take a receiver somewhere in the draft. In 19 of the last 21 drafts, the Steelers have used at least one pick on a receiver, sometimes they’ve used two — last year those picks were George Pickens and Calvin Austin III.
What About Steelers Receiver Calvin Austin III?
After an outstanding training camp outing, buzz started building around rookie Calvin Austin, selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 4th round (No. 138) of the 2022 NFL draft. Based on that performance, expectations were high that he’d make an immediate impact.
Calvin Austin on his 61-yard burst
The 5-foot-7, 170-pound Memphis product capped off his collegiate career in 2021 with 63 receptions and 1,000+ yards and was drafted primarily due to his game-breaking speed. Austin ran a 4.32-second 40-yard dash at the 2022 scouting combine, good for third-best among wide receivers.
It was anticipated that Austin would be featured extensively in the slot. But his first pro season was over before it began. He suffered a Lisfranc injury during one of the team’s final training camp sessions and was placed on injured reserve on September 1, 2022.
Austin returned to practice in October when he re-aggravated the injury sidelining him for the remainder of the season. With Claypool in Chicago and Steven Sims in Texas, expectations are once again high for the second-year receiver.