Anthony Miller (wide receiver, born 1994)

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Anthony Miller
refer to caption
Miller in the 2019 NFL season
No. 17 – Pittsburgh Steelers
Position:Wide receiver
Personal information
Born: (1994-10-09) October 9, 1994 (age 27)
Memphis, Tennessee
Height:5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight:199 lb (90 kg)
Career information
High school:Christian Brothers
(Memphis, Tennessee)
College:Memphis
NFL Draft:2018 / Round: 2 / Pick: 51
Career history
Roster status:Active
Career highlights and awards
  • Consensus All-American (2017)
  • First Team All-AAC (2017)
  • Second Team All-AAC (2016)
Career NFL statistics as of Week 12, 2021
Receptions:140
Receiving yards:1,589
Receiving touchdowns:12
Player stats at NFL.com

Anthony Miller (born October 9, 1994) is an American football wide receiver for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Memphis.

Early years[]

Miller attended Christian Brothers High School in Memphis, Tennessee, where he played football and ran track for the Purple Wave athletic teams.[1]

College career[]

Miller joined the University of Memphis football team as a walk-on.[2] He redshirted in 2013 and then again in 2014 due to an injury. In 2015, he played in 12 games and made four starts, recording 47 receptions for 694 yards with five receiving touchdowns and two rushing touchdowns. In 2016, Miller started all 13 games and set school records with 95 receptions for 1,434 yards and 14 touchdowns.[3][1] During his senior season in 2017, he broke Duke Calhoun's school records for career receptions and receiving yards, Carlos Singleton's school record for career receiving touchdowns, and his own outright record for single-season receiving touchdowns and shared record for single-game receiving touchdowns.[4][5]

Collegiate statistics[]

Anthony Miller Receiving Rushing
Year School Conf Class Pos G Rec Yds Avg TD Att Yds Avg TD
2015 Memphis American SO WR 12 47 694 14.8 5 9 54 6.0 2
2016 Memphis American JR WR 13 95 1,434 15.1 14 12 69 5.8 1
2017 Memphis American SR WR 13 96 1,462 15.2 18 10 25 2.5 0
Career Memphis 238 3,590 15.1 37 31 148 4.8 3

Professional career[]

Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span Bench press
5 ft 11+1⁄8 in
(1.81 m) 		201 lb
(91 kg) 		31+5⁄8 in
(0.80 m) 		10+5⁄8 in
(0.27 m)		 22 reps
All values from NFL Combine[6]

Chicago Bears[]

2018[]

Miller was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the second round, 51st overall, of the 2018 NFL Draft.[7] He was the sixth wide receiver to be selected that year.[8]

In his NFL debut against the Green Bay Packers in the season opener, he had two receptions for 14 yards in the 24–23 defeat on NBC Sunday Night Football.[9] In the following game, a 24–17 victory over the Seattle Seahawks on Monday Night Football, he recorded his first professional touchdown reception.[10] The third game of the year against the Arizona Cardinals saw Miller catch four passes for 35 yards, but he left the game early with a dislocated shoulder.[11]

On October 14, caught a 29-yard touchdown pass against the Miami Dolphins, his second of the season, in the 31–28 overtime loss.[12] Two weeks later, Miller caught three passes for 37 yards and a touchdown, his third of the season, against the New York Jets.[13] In Week 10 against the Detroit Lions, Miller caught five passes for 122 yards and a touchdown. The Bears won the game by a score of 34–22.[14]

In Week 13 against the New York Giants, Miller caught the game-tying touchdown pass in regulation on a trick play: quarterback Chase Daniel tossed the ball to tight end Trey Burton, who then tossed it to running back Tarik Cohen, who threw it to Miller for the touchdown. Miller's touchdown sent the game into overtime, tied 27–27. Unfortunately, the Bears lost to the Giants in overtime 30–27 after the Bears failed to convert a fourth down in overtime.[15]

In Week 16 against the San Francisco 49ers, Miller was ejected after he got in a fight with safety Marcell Harris. Miller attacked Harris after he hit quarterback Mitchell Trubisky as he was sliding to the ground. In addition, fellow Bears wide receiver Josh Bellamy and 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman were ejected from the game.[16] Before he was ejected, he had three catches for 24 yards and a touchdown. The Bears won the game 14–9.[17]

Miller finished his rookie season with 33 catches for 423 yards and seven touchdowns.[17] His seven touchdowns led the team and were the most by a Bears rookie since Willie Gault had seven in 1983; he also ranked second in the league among rookie receivers behind the Atlanta Falcons' Calvin Ridley.[18] He received an overall grade of 60.6 from Pro Football Focus in 2018, which ranked as the 92nd-highest grade among all qualifying wide receivers.[19]

2019[]

Miller in a game against the Washington Redskins

During the Thanksgiving Series against the Detroit Lions in Week 13, Miller finished with a career-high nine catches for 140 receiving yards as the Bears won 24–20.[20] In the following week's game against the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday Night Football, Miller caught three passes for 42 yards and his first touchdown of the season in the 31–24 win.[21] In Week 15 against the Green Bay Packers, Miller caught nine passes for 118 yards and a touchdown during the 21–13 loss.[22] Overall, Miller finished the 2019 season with 52 receptions for 656 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns.[23]

2020[]

In the 2020 season opener against the Detroit Lions, Miller scored the go-ahead touchdown with 1:55 remaining on a 27-yard reception from Trubisky; Miller's assignment, a fly route from the right slot receiver position, was the same pattern he ran in the 2019 Thanksgiving game that resulted in a 32-yard catch. Miller ended the 27–23 victory with four catches for 76 yards.[24] In Week 3 against the Atlanta Falcons, Miller caught a 28 yard touchdown pass late in the fourth quarter to help the Bears come back to win the game 30–26.[25] Miller was ejected from the Wild Card round of the 2020–21 NFL playoffs for hitting New Orleans Saints cornerback C. J. Gardner-Johnson. Miller caught two passes for 22 yards prior to being disqualified from the game.[26]

Houston Texans[]

On July 26, 2021, Miller was traded to the Houston Texans along with a 2022 seventh-round pick for a 2022 fifth-round pick.[27] He played in two games before being released on October 6, 2021.[28]

Pittsburgh Steelers[]

On October 12, 2021, Miller was signed to the Pittsburgh Steelers practice squad.[29] He was elevated to the active roster from the practice squad on November 27, 2021.[30] He signed a reserve/future contract with the Steelers on January 24, 2022.[31]

Career statistics[]

Season Team Games Receiving Rushing
GP GS Rec Yds Avg Lng TD Att Yds Avg Lng TD
2018 CHI 15 4 33 423 12.8 55 7 6 26 4.3 9 0
2019 CHI 16 7 52 656 12.6 35 2 1 −1 −1.0 −1 0
2020 CHI 16 6 49 485 9.9 34 2 2 12 6.0 9 0
2021 HOU 2 1 5 23 4.6 10 1 0 0 0 0 0
PIT 1 0 1 2 2.0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 50 18 140 1,589 11.4 55 12 9 37 4.1 9 0
Playoffs
2018 CHI 1 0 3 34 11.3 23 0 0 0 0.0 0 0
2020 CHI 1 1 2 22 11.0 11 0 1 2 2.0 2 0
Total 2 1 5 56 11.2 23 0 1 2 2.0 2 0

References[]

  1. ^ a b Wade, Don (November 3, 2017). "Anthony Miller: A Great Catch for Memphis". Memphis Daily News.
  2. ^ Schad, Tom (October 14, 2015). "U of M's Anthony Miller goes from walk-on to key WR". Archive.commercialappeal.com.
  3. ^ Schad, Tom (March 18, 2017). "Inside Anthony Miller's decision to return to Memphis". Commercialappeal.com.
  4. ^ Melo, Justin (November 13, 2017). "Meet Anthony Miller, the walk-on who rewrote the Memphis record books". The Draft Wire.
  5. ^ Calkins, Geoff (October 28, 2017). "Memphis Tigers receiver Anthony Miller is smashing records – and teaching lessons". Commercialappeal.com.
  6. ^ "Anthony Miller Combine Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
  7. ^ Mayer, Larry (April 27, 2018). "Bears trade up to select Miller in Round 2". ChicagoBears.com. Archived from the original on May 27, 2018. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
  8. ^ "2018 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
  9. ^ Kane, Colleen (September 12, 2018). "11 things we heard from Bears assistant coaches about Mitch Trubisky's 'happy feet,' Kyle Fuller's dropped INT and more". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
  10. ^ Greer, Jarvis (September 18, 2018). "Anthony Miller scores first NFL touchdown". WMC Action News 5. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
  11. ^ Wiltfong Jr., Lester (September 24, 2018). "Bears' Anthony Miller dislocated his shoulder". Windy City Gridiron. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
  12. ^ Dickerson, Jeff (October 15, 2018). "Bears' Mitchell Trubisky keeps on uptick with sizzling second half". ESPN.com. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
  13. ^ Mayer, Larry (October 28, 2018). "Bears turn on Jets to snap skid". Chicagobears.com. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
  14. ^ "Bears' Anthony Miller: Explodes for career-best effort". CBSSports.com. November 11, 2018. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
  15. ^ "Bears halfback Tarik Cohen has career day in loss to Giants". Foxsports.com. Associated Press. December 2, 2018. Retrieved December 3, 2018.
  16. ^ Finley, Patrick (December 23, 2018). "Bears WRs Anthony Miller, Josh Bellamy ejected in fight with 49ers". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved January 29, 2019.
  17. ^ a b "Anthony Miller 2018 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 29, 2019.
  18. ^ Mayer, Larry (February 6, 2019). "Bears 2018 position review: Receiver". Chicago Bears. Retrieved February 11, 2019.
  19. ^ "Pro Football Focus: Anthony Miller". profootballfocus.com. Retrieved March 31, 2019.
  20. ^ "Trubisky's 3rd TD pass lifts Bears to 24–20 win over Lions". www.espn.com. Associated Press. November 28, 2019. Retrieved November 28, 2019.
  21. ^ "Mitchell Trubisky helps Bears beat Cowboys 31–24". www.espn.com. Associated Press. December 5, 2019. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
  22. ^ "Jones scores twice, Packers complete season sweep of Bears". www.espn.com. Associated Press. December 15, 2019. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
  23. ^ "Anthony Miller 2019 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 23, 2020.
  24. ^ Finley, Patrick (September 13, 2020). "Bears recycle Thanksgiving play for Anthony Miller TD". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved September 13, 2020.
  25. ^ "Chicago Bears at Atlanta Falcons – September 27th, 2020". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  26. ^ DeArdo, Bryan (January 11, 2021). "Bears' Anthony Miller ejected during wild-card playoff game vs. Saints after scuffle with C.J. Gardner-Johnson". CBS Sports. Retrieved January 11, 2021.
  27. ^ Mayer, Larry (July 26, 2021). "Roster Move: Bears trade Miller to Texans". ChicagoBears.com.
  28. ^ Lane, Mark (October 6, 2021). "Texans to release WR Anthony Miller". TexansWire.USAToday.com.
  29. ^ "Report: Steelers Sign WR Anthony Miller, DL Isaiah Mack To Practice Squad". Steelers Depot. October 12, 2021.
  30. ^ Varley, Teresa (November 27, 2021). "Steelers make moves, place two on IR". Steelers.com.
  31. ^ "Steelers sign wide receiver Anthony Miller to a Reserve/Future contract". Behind the Steel Curtain. SB Nation. January 24, 2022.

External links[]

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