It seems Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Todd Haley isn't the only one who thinks that wide receiver Martavis Bryant is set for a much bigger impact in his second NFL season. Haley intimated in March that he expected Bryant to compete for the No. 2 spot behind All Pro wideout Antonio Brown. He now has company in his belief that Bryant will build on the promising end to his 2014 campaign. Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports had the opportunity to take in Day One of the Steelers 2015 training camp and came away with the impression that Bryant is already a "star" in the making.
"Martavis Bryant is going to be a star this year for the Steelers. He looks amazing. Absolutely has made big strides this offseason," Robinson tweeted.
Bryant, the Steelers fourth-round pick in last year's draft, appeared in just 10 regular season games and managed just 26 receptions during that time. Those receptions though, went for an astounding 549 yards and eight touchdowns. In short, while Brown will likely remain the biggest deep threat for Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, Bryant certainly served notice that he's got plenty of big-play potential of his own.
While Bryant entered the pre-draft process to questions about his pro readiness, hands and route-running ability, by the end of last season he had lain nearly all of them to rest. Of course, as it is with any young player, Bryant's issues didn't simply disappear overnight. But with Markus Wheaton failing to stake his claim to the spot behind Brown, if Bryant really has upped his game this offseason, there's no telling just how big a part of the Steelers passing game he could become.
And considering the Pittsburgh offense managed almost 5,000-yards and 32 touchdowns through the air, an improved Bryant could mean Roethlisberger and Co. will wind up with one of the best scoring offenses in the league by the time it's all said and done.
