Who Should I Start? Tyler Lockett or Calvin Austin III

Thursday, April 24, 2:57 PM

The Tennessee Titans signed veteran free-agent wide receiver Tyler Lockett to a one-year, $4 million deal on Wednesday. According to Titans insider Paul Kuharsky, the team views him as "primarily a slot who can still threaten downfield and be used on some outside routes." Before this signing, Van Jefferson or Treylon Burks was slated to be Tennessee's No. 2 receiver behind Calvin Ridley following the departure of Nick Westbrook-Ikhine. Lockett brings another veteran presence to the wide receiver room, and he'll presumably catch passes from rookie quarterback Cam Ward in 2025. While Lockett's arrival slightly improves Tennessee's pass-catching group, they are likely to continue to address the position on Day 2 or Day 3 of the 2025 NFL Draft.

Wednesday, June 11, 5:17 PM

Pittsburgh Steelers wide receivers coach Zach Azzanni likes Calvin Austin III to be the team's No. 2 wideout behind DK Metcalf in 2025 after George Pickens was traded to the Dallas Cowboys this offseason. Azzanni said that Austin is being overlooked and that he is a "legit NFL receiver" that "gets separation all over the field." Roman Wilson and others will be working as a committee behind Metcalf and Austin to open the 2025 regular season. Austin, a former fourth-rounder (138th overall) in 2022 out of Memphis, caught 36 of his 58 targets for 548 yards and four touchdowns in 17 regular-season games (eight starts) in his second season in the NFL last year. He is definitely going to have a bigger role in 2025, but in what is expected to be a run-heavy offense with quarterback Aaron Rodgers likely in the last season of his career, we'd expect Austin to struggle for volume on a week-to-week basis.