Steelers rookie Calvin Austin III not feeling pressure wearing JuJu Smith-Schuster's old number

Wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster featured for the Pittsburgh Steelers from 2017 through last season and earned a single Pro Bowl nod during his Pittsburgh tenure while wearing No. 19. In total, Smith-Schuster recorded 323 regular-season receptions for 3,855 yards and 26 touchdowns with the Steelers before he signed with the Kansas City Chiefs in March. 

The Steelers responded to Smith-Schuster's departure by selecting Georgia wide receiver George Pickens in the second round of this year's draft and also by adding Memphis receiver Calvin Austin III via a fourth-round choice. For an ESPN piece published Friday morning about why rookies chose certain numbers with their teams, Austin explained that he feels no pressure to follow in Smith-Schuster's footsteps now that he's Pittsburgh's new No. 19. 

"I'm sure when most Steeler fans see 19, that's who they're first gonna think of, and that's to be expected," Austin said about Smith-Schuster when speaking with ESPN's Brooke Pryor. "It's just until I come in and show what I can do, then hopefully they'll be thinking of me when they see 19."

Austin also said there's no "deep meaning" behind his decision to pick No. 19. 

Both Austin and Pickens are widely expected to be immediate contributors to an offense that will probably have free-agent signing Mitchell Trubisky serving as its starting quarterback. Earlier this week, Pickens was called a "must-see NFL rookie" for upcoming preseason games. 

Pittsburgh hosts the Seattle Seahawks for its first exhibition matchup of the month on Aug. 13.