Miles Boykin fit in during 1st season with Steelers, but will he be back for 2nd?

For five seasons of the most recently completed decade, one of Mike Tomlin’s favorite players in the Pittsburgh Steelers locker room was a wide receiver who had all the physical tools but was never able to put it all together as an offensive threat in the NFL.

That player, Darrius Heyward-Bey, earned the respect of Tomlin and his teammates, though, in other ways. Heyward-Bey developed into a versatile core special-teamer and high-character presence as a leader.

Last year, the Steelers picked up a player with a profile a lot like Heyward-Bey’s, and he similarly fit seamlessly into their locker room.

Can that player, Miles Boykin, also have a lengthy tenure with the Steelers?

“Absolutely,” Boykin said after the season ended. “I love it here. Obviously, we’re playing in a gritty city, and I feel like I am a gritty player. I love the fans, love my teammates, love the core we have here, love my coaching staff. There is nothing more I could ask for being here.”

From top-10 pick to mentor, Darrius Heyward-Bey relishes role with #Steelers, writes @C_AdamskiTrib >> https://t.co/hdsDhzws6H pic.twitter.com/slU1Z7SkJl

— Tribune-Review Sports (@TribSports) June 20, 2017

Boykin is scheduled to hit unrestricted free agency in March. He will do so as a 26-year-old, four-year NFL veteran who has 35 catches for 481 yards and seven touchdowns.

Those aren’t the numbers many expected to see when Boykin was zooming up draft boards as a sleeper prospect in 2019. Taken in the third round by Baltimore, the 6-foot-4, 220-pound Boykin started 24 games his first two seasons, but aside from seven touchdowns in that stretch, the production wasn’t commensurate.

So after an injury-riddled 2021, Boykin was waived by the Ravens. He was claimed by the Steelers, took on more special-teams work and settled in among the range of a No. 4-6 wide receiver.

Within the context of what he was asked to do in that role, Boykin was a perfect fit.

“Special teams for me is something I can do for however long I am in this league,” he said. “When it comes to receiver, I definitely feel as if there is more I can give. But at the same time, I think I contributed in big ways on special teams, and when I did come in on offense I feel like I did my job.”

A regular on kickoff teams and the punt coverage unit, Boykin was one of seven Steelers players to log more than 200 special-teams snaps. Pro Football Focus rated him ninth among the 55 Steelers who played on special teams. Boykin played 132 snaps (with one start) on offense.

“I feel like I have done what I have been asked to do,” Boykin said. “It’s all about finding the right balance, hoping that wherever I am next year it’s still the same thing as here, just with someone who sees the value I can bring as a leader and in (offense and on special teams).”

Boykin’s voice resonates with younger players, be it on special teams or in the WR room.

“He’s a guy we all look up to,” rookie Calvin Austin III said.

Though Boykin wasn’t a No. 7 overall draft pick like Heyward-Bey was (in 2009), Boykin left Notre Dame as a recognizable name after he had eight touchdowns over a six-game span in the middle of the Fighting Irish’s 2018 run to the College Football Playoff.

At this point of his pro career, Boykin’s role on offense likely will top out as a complementary receiver. On the Steelers, that’s in a group behind starters Diontae Johnson and George Pickens and whoever plays the slot.

Over Heyward-Bey’s 2014-18 tenure with the Steelers, he had 33 catches for 517 yards and four touchdowns. But Heyward-Bey’s spot on the roster and in the lineup was secure regardless of his offensive production because of special teams contributions and intangibles.

Boykin could end up Tomlin’s new Heyward-Bey.

“I am grateful for ending up here in a lot of ways,” Boykin said. “The adversity we faced this season as a team just taught me so much about my career and just football in general. The past 12 months have been nothing but great for me.

“Absolutely, if everything works out on both sides, I would love to be back here. We will just have to wait and see.”

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