Steelers' Mike McCarthy Shouts Out Much-Maligned Rookie Kaden Wetjen After Big Punt Return Touchdown

Entering the Pittsburgh Steelers' preseason Week 3 game against the Buffalo Bills, many fans were wondering why the front office decided to use a fourth-round pick on return man Kaden Wetjen. He had received a lot of criticism recently, including from his own head coach. Despite his draft status and the fact that he is a rookie, it was starting to look like he was at risk of not making the 53-man roster due to his rough play and supposed breakaway speed not being put on display on offense or special teams. 

The beginning of the preseason finale showed the same thing: Wetjen could not get past the first wave of tacklers and routinely tried to go sideline to sideline as opposed to down the field. In the third quarter, he finally showed why he was drafted. He did try running east and west again, but it worked as he was able to find a lane and score on a 44-yard punt return touchdown.

Head Coach Mike McCarthy was very critical of the rookie return man, but he made sure to give Wetjen his flowers during his postgame press conference.

"[Kaden Wetjen's] been under some criticism just for being a young guy [on a] veteran team, some tough love," McCarthy said. "I'm very proud of him. I was really happy to see the return unit get that, and obviously, it was a h*ll of a return by him."

It's always great when a player can take a nothing play and turn it into something. The biggest thing here for Wetjen, however, is that everyone finally got to see this explosiveness that made the Steelers draft him in the first place. There were questions about that, especially after he got caught from behind on the big catch-and-run from the preseason opener on an offensive play.

It also shows the mental fortitude of Wetjen. As mentioned before, he was criticized nonstop by both fans and his coach, and it's easy to let that get into your head. On top of that, he had a fumble and a muffed punt in the previous game. While the New York Jets did not successfully recover any of them, it still sparked questions about his ability as a return man.

Hopefully, Wetjen can take this great punt return and turn it into some regular season action. He will undoubtedly be the primary returner, as shown by the fact that he got all the reps there against the Bills. The Steelers have been deprived of quality field-flipping returns for a long time now, and the hope is that someone as talented as the fourth-round rookie can finally change Pittsburgh's fortunes in that regard.

Steelers Should Not Get Too Excited About Wetjen's Touchdown

Wetjen kept running laterally throughout the game, including on his big touchdown. While it worked that one time, it's not the key to success for him. In the NFL, it's very rare that you see big returns and scores off the way the rookie got to the end zone. Usually, plays like that end up in either no gain or a loss of yardage, and it leads to the coaching staff screaming at you on the sideline and possibly getting benched.

If Wetjen is going to have success in the NFL, he has to learn to get north and south with the ball in his hands. He needs to take what little bit of space he has and hit the hole hard. He supposedly has great acceleration, but it has barely been seen on the game tape throughout the whole preseason. If he can't figure that out soon, he will definitely be on the roster bubble during training camp in 2027.

What do you think about McCarthy praising Wetjen for his 44-yard touchdown after all the criticism he received over the past few weeks? Will he be able to break out in 2026? Let us know on X at @Steelers_ChrisB.

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