Calvin Austin III, Memphis Tigers. (The Commercial Appeal)
The Pittsburgh Steelers got one over on the rival Baltimore Ravens when they grabbed a coveted playmaker right before them during the 2022 NFL Draft.
NFL rivalries aren’t just reserved for battles on the field in the fall. Satisfying victories can also come during the offseason.
The Steelers managed just that feat during the 2022 NFL Draft with their fourth-round selection of Memphis wide receiver Calvin Austin III.
Austin came off the board with pick No. 138, one spot ahead of where the Ravens had apparently planned to take him.
Steelers annoyed Ravens by picking Calvin Austin III
Peter King’s inside look at Baltimore’s draft process revealed the moment when the Ravens’ found out they’d been thwarted.
“Gotta be kidding me,” someone in the Ravens’ war room blurted out after the pick came up on TV, according to King.
Austin was supposed to help Baltimore offset the loss of Marquise Brown, who they traded to the Cardinals. His comparable speed would have been a big help.
“Austin wasn’t a must-have. But he was the next target. He was Baltimore’s guy,” King wrote.
Austin’s career will be linked to that of Penn State punter Jordan Stout because of all this. The Ravens used pick No. 130 to take the punter as a future replacement for Justin Tucker.
If Stout goes on to have a lengthy and reliable career, then Baltimore won’t spend too much time thinking about Austin. But if the wide receiver manages to translate his Memphis career into production at the NFL level then you can bet Steelers fans will be taunting the Ravens about this one for years to come.
Austin will join fellow WR draft pick George Pickens and quarterback Kenny Pickett as the Steelers work to rebuild their offense in the post-Ben Roethlisberger era.