Justin

Brown

Brown (6-foot-3, 207) isn’t an explosive athlete, as evidenced by his 4.60 forty and 30.5" vertical, and he’ll have trouble separating at the NFL level. Brown will compete for No. 4 or 5 receiver duties and a special teams role.

Brown (6-foot-3, 207) ran a 4.60 forty and posted an underwhelming 30 1/2-inch vertical at the Sooners’ Pro Day. A transfer from Penn State, Brown reeled in 73 passes for 879 yards and five touchdowns as a senior. Brown wins at the catch point, but he’ll have trouble separating at the next level. He’ll compete for a spot at the bottom of the roster and try and contribute on special teams.

Brown is the most notable name here; he was a sixth-round pick this past April out of Oklahoma. Long is the younger brother of Rams LT Jake Long.

Big Ben requested the three young receivers to travel to the West Coast so that he could get a better feel for them. “It was really about (Roethlisberger) getting a feel for some of us a little bit more,” Moye said. “We ran some different routes that he wanted to work with us individually on.” Wheaton could see his snaps increase dramatically if the Steelers fail to re-sign one or both of Emmanuel Sanders and Jerricho Cotchery, who are free agents.

Brown got his first-team reps in three-wide packages that also featured Antonio Brown and Lance Moore. Still, we don’t expect the 2013 sixth-round pick to run ahead of Markus Wheaton or Martavis Bryant at all during training camp. Brown lacks NFL-caliber separation ability and athleticism.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette seems to think Brown has a legit shot to unseat Moore, even if Moore remains the favorite. Brown was also sprinkled in with the first team this spring. At 6-foot-3, 207, Brown offers much better size than 5-foot-9, 182-pound Moore. Both of the Steelers’ outside receivers are under 6-feet.

They re-signed DE Erik Williams to fill the roster spot. A 2013 sixth-round pick of the Steelers, Brown is a slow slot receiver type.

Some have been wondering why Moore, expected to play the Jerricho Cotchery role, has played just 28 snaps all season. The answer is simply that the Steelers prefer Brown, their 2013 sixth-rounder. Both players are far off the fantasy radar as No. 4/5 options for Big Ben.

Brown is being replaced in the lineup by rookie Martavis Bryant, who is making his NFL debut. McLendon has a shoulder injury, Ike Taylor has a broken forearm, and Shazier remains out with a knee issue. Jones is the No. 3 QB.

Brown will be a healthy scratch for the third straight week. Also inactive for the Steelers are QB Landry Jones, NT Daniel McCullers, CB B.W. Webb, G Chris Hubbard, CB Ike Taylor, and S Ross Ventrone.