Calvin Austin 2025 Fantasy Outlook: Can His Speed Translate To Consistent Production?
After flashing elite speed and occasional big-play ability, Calvin Austin enters the 2025 season looking to carve out a more consistent role in the Pittsburgh Steelers' offense. Despite setting career highs in every category last year, volume remains the biggest hurdle keeping him off the fantasy radar.
Calvin Austin, Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh added Austin in the fourth round of the 2022 NFL Draft. He brought an undersized skill set (5’8” and 170 lbs.) to the NFL. Over his final two seasons at Memphis, Austin delivered two productive years (63/1,053/11 and 74/1,149/8), while benefiting from numerous targets (119 and 127).
Austin ran a 4.32 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine while excelling in the three-cone drill (6.65 seconds). He projects a potential slot player with a gimmick feel. His speed will test a defense deep, but Austin will struggle to catch the ball in tight coverage.
In 2023, he caught 17 of his 30 targets for 180 yards and one score while adding some value in the run game (11/57/1). Austin only offered fantasy value in one matchup (2/72/1). He missed his rookie season with a foot injury.
Pittsburgh gave Austin WR3 snaps last season, leading to career highs in catches (36), receiving yards (548), touchdowns (4), and targets (58). He teased in Week 3 (4/95/1) while offering three other playable games (3/54/1, 3/78/1, and 5/65). The Steelers gave him five targets or fewer in 17 of his 18 contests.
Calvin Austin Fantasy Football Outlook
Austin falls into the flash player category this season due to his success driven by scoring on big plays. Growth should be expected, but the Steelers won’t give him enough targets to be fantasy-relevant.
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With 20+ years of experience in the high-stakes fantasy market, I aim to research and compete at the highest level in baseball and football each season. I've contributed as a writer/analyst for Sports Draft Daily, ScoutPro, Scout Fantasy, Fulltime Fantasy, FFToolbox, and Sports Illustrated Fantasy. I'm honored to be in the National Fantasy Baseball Championship Hall of Fame. My drafting philosophy is risk-averse yet open to betting on potential game-changers. I approach player selection with a neutral perspective, acknowledging that fantasy sports are inherently unpredictable due to injuries, performance dips, and managerial decisions. My work focuses on these main areas: - Season-long fantasy baseball and football - BestBall Baseball and Football Events - Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS): DraftKings, FanDuel, and Underdog - Long Shot Player Prop Parlays for NFL I participate in various leagues and contests, including NFBC, NFFC, RTSports, FFPC, DraftKings, Underdog Fantasy, FanDuel, and FFWC, with the goal of leveraging my extensive experience and research for success in each game format. A fantasy follower can expect in-depth profiles of NFL and MLB players, along with season-long and weekly projections for each fantasy football season. In addition, I have many strategy articles to help develop fantasy players' learning curves.