It was anticipated that the Pittsburgh Steelers, who had recently signed Arthur Smith, the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons, as their new offensive coordinator, would be amenable to adding a few guys Smith knows to assist in running his system.
With several former Falcons already committed to the organization, Smith hasn’t spent any time in making his mark on Pittsburgh’s offensive line roster. According to reports, the team just signed wide receiver Scotty Miller, who began his career in Tampa Bay and spent the 2023 season in Atlanta with Smith. In 17 games, he caught 11 passes for 161 yards and two scores. Along with him is wide receiver Van Jefferson, who was dealt by the Los Angeles Rams in October in exchange for two 2025 late-round selections and played for the Falcons the previous season. He made 12 receptions for 101 yards during his 12 games with the Falcons.
Additionally, Smith signed tight end MyCole Pruitt and running back Cordarrelle Patterson, both former Falcons. Before accompanying Smith to Atlanta for the 2022–2023 season, Pruitt was a player for him in Tennessee. With Atlanta in 2022, he caught 16 passes for 150 yards and four touchdowns; the previous season, he grabbed 9 passes for 110 yards and one score. Pruitt has played around 25% of the special teams snaps over the last three seasons, so he’ll probably need to put in a bit more effort there if he wants to stay on Pittsburgh’s 53-man roster.
Patterson, who was a player for Smith from 2021 to 2023, had a standout year in 2021 with 618 running yards from 153 attempts, 548 receiving yards from 52 grabs, and 11 touchdowns overall. In 2022, Patterson continued to have a great season, running for 695 yards and eight touchdowns and catching 21 passes for 122 yards. However, last season, Patterson lost his way as Atlanta started using rookie running back Bijan Robinson in addition to Tyler Allgeier.
With Miller’s acquisition today, Pittsburgh now has four former Falcons skill-position players on its roster. It just serves to highlight the influence Smith has had since moving to Pittsburgh in assembling the offensive team’s skill. Pittsburgh chose guys with grit in the offensive line draft, and as a result, the team currently has a few former Smith players.
All of the players from Atlanta that were added to the roster fit well as backups or rotations. At this stage of his career, Patterson is more of a special teams contributor than an every-down starter, whereas Miller and Jefferson are more specialized players. Nevertheless, it indicates that Smith has some sway over this group. It is hoped that a few of his old teammates from Atlanta will remain on Pittsburgh’s 53-man roster and contribute significantly during the regular season to assist this offense escape the mediocrity it has been stuck in for a while.
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