Wide receiver Scotty Miller is one of four offensive players that followed Arthur Smith to Pittsburgh this offseason. Miller, Cordarrelle Patterson, Van Jefferson and MyCole Pruitt all followed their former head coach to the Steel City and according to most of them, it is for a job, but more importantly it is to help mentor the other players on Smith’s playbook.
“Just trying to help out as much that I can,” Miller told reporters at Steelers minicamp in June. “In the meeting, any questions that they might have about the small little details. You might not think they matter too much but they are a huge detail within every single play so just trying to help out in any way that I can, especially with the offense.”
In Smith’s offense, smaller, faster receivers like Miller, Calvin Austin and Quez Watkins will be featured more frequently. Miller explained how Smith is great at being able to scheme smaller guys open against bigger defenders.
“I think [coach Smith] does a great job,” Miller said about Smith’s ability to use smaller receivers. “Sometimes it can be harder for a smaller guy to get off press if you are isolated all game in the boundary against a big corner. He does a great job moving us around, helping us out getting us on the move. Obviously, where we are good at is our speed and our quick twitch. He obviously loves the to run the ball and have a physical offense so that kind of helps bring the defense up and open the windows down the field.”
One of the main reasons that Miller chose the Steelers in free agency was due to his familiarity with the offense. After spending four seasons in Tampa Bay, Miller played last season in Atlanta.
“That was one of the best things about coming here was that it made the transition super easy for me,” Miller said. “I came in day one just pretty much knowing everything, it is the same verbiage that we used in Atlanta.”
Miller had little impact on the offense in Atlanta but he was log jammed behind a solid group of receivers. The last time that Miller was a featured piece in an offense was for Tom Brady and the Buccaneers in 2020 when he hauled in 33 passes for 501 yards.
During his time with the Buccaneers, Miller learned from Brady but also had two All-Pro’s in his position room to learn from, Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. Millers credits a lot of what he learned in Tampa Bay to those two guys.
“I was super fortunate to play with those guys (Mike Evans and Chris Godwin),” Miller said. “I was in Tampa for four years so it was awesome to play alongside those guys, both awesome players. I learned a lot from them, they were different type of receivers but just how they went about their work every single day. … Just forever grateful to play to have those four years with those guys.”
Regardless of his past with Smith, Miller may be here just to help the other receivers get up to speed in the new offense. With another log jam ahead of him, Miller will have to win a spot in the preseason. His experience in the offense is an advantage but the hill is steep for the 26 year old.
13 • Scotty Miller, Wide Receiver, Bowling Green
5-foot-9, 184 pounds, 26 years old, 6th Season
Acquired: The Steelers signed Scotty Miller to a one-year contract on May 8, 2024. Miller signed with the Steelers to follow his former head coach Arthur Smith to Pittsburgh.
Last Season: With the Falcons last season, Scotty Miller was the No. 5 wide receiver option in terms of targets. Miller played in all 17 games and was targeted just 16 times, catching 11 of them for 161 yards and two touchdowns.
Career: Scotty Miller spent four seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who selected him out of Bowling Green in the sixth round of the 2019 NFL Draft.
He played in 10 games and made two starts as a rookie in 2019. Miller saw his workload increase in 2020, when he started five games, played in all 16 and caught 33 passes for a career-high 501 yards and two touchdowns.
Miller missed a big chunk of the 2021 season with turf toe, and never seemed to regain his previous level of production. He caught just five passes in nine games that season. In 2022, he played in 15 games and made one start. Miller was targeted 40 times, but caught just 23 for 185 yards, an average of 8 yards per catch.
Over his first five seasons, Miller has played in 67 games and has tallied 85 receptions, 1,085 yards and six receiving touchdowns.
| Year | Team | GP | GS | Receptions | Rec Yards | Rec Tds |
| 2019 | TB | 10 | 2 | 13 | 200 | 1 |
| 2020 | TB | 16 | 5 | 33 | 501 | 3 |
| 2021 | TB | 9 | 0 | 5 | 38 | 0 |
| 2022 | TB | 15 | 1 | 23 | 185 | 0 |
| 2023 | ATL | 17 | 0 | 11 | 161 | 2 |
College: Scotty Miller appeared in the final 10 games of his true freshman season for Bowling Green. He total seven receptions for 29 yards in 2015. Miller broke onto the scene for the Falcons in 2016 as he caught a team-high 74 passes for 968 yards and 10 touchdowns. He earned First-Team All-Mac honors following the season. In that season, Miller had four 100-yard performances including a 178-yard game against Miami.
In 2017, Miller’s production went down a bit but he was still very effective. He still managed to lead the team with 63 catches for 722 yards. He finished with four receiving scores that season.
As a senior, Miller caught a team-high 71 passes for 1,148 yards and nine touchdowns. He finished his Bowling Green career with 215 receptions, 2,867 yards and 23 receiving touchdowns.
| Year | GP | Receptions | Rec Yards | Rec TDs |
| 2015 | 10 | 7 | 29 | 0 |
| 2016 | 12 | 74 | 968 | 10 |
| 2017 | 12 | 63 | 722 | 4 |
| 2018 | 11 | 71 | 1,148 | 9 |
Salary cap and future: Scotty Miller’s deal with the Steelers is just a one-year deal so if he does not work out in Pittsburgh, he can become a free agent following this season. Miller’s cap hit in 2024 is $1.125 million with it all being base salary. This means if the Steelers decided to let him go at any point of this season, he would not count against the cap space in regard to dead money.