Jun 7, 2015 4 min read

PITTSBURGH – When Ben Roethlisberger took members of the Steelers offense with him to Georgia in the offseason to bond and work out, they had a dinner at which the quarterback went around the table and talked about expectations in 2015 for each player.

His remarks to second-year wide receiver Martavis Bryant?

Roethlisberger told Bryany he can be as good as he wants to be.

At 6-4 and now 220 pounds – nine pounds heavier than his rookie season – Bryant is a physical specimen who also runs a 4.4-second 40-yard dash.

And he has taken Roethlisberger’s words to heart in his offseason training. He spent time in Los Angeles doing mixed martial arts training and karate to help with hand-eye coordination in addition to weight training.

He also mixed in time to work on his route running, a part of his game – if anything – that was lacking in 2014.

Considering Bryant burst onto the scene for the Steelers at midseason, catching 26 passes for 549 yards and eight touchdowns in just 10 games, that has to be a scary proposition for future opponents.

“It was tiring,” the 23-year-old said of his three-a-day workouts. “I was getting home every day at night. Every day.

“You put in what you get out. If you want to be one of the best, you’ve got to work like the best. If you want to be a slacker, you’re not going to do anything. It’s all what you want and how hard you’re willing to work.”

It’s a philosophy Bryant learned from teammate Antonio Brown, whom he latched onto as a rookie last season.

Who better to learn from than the NFL’s leader in receptions and receiving yards in 2014? But do the Steelers have room for two 1,000-yard receivers in 2015?

“There’s always room,” said Bryant, as the Steelers prepare for their final week of OTAs this week. “We have room for people to be great. We’ll win a championship if we do that.”

A fourth-round draft pick out of Clemson last season, Bryant was considered raw as a receiver, having spent most of his career for the Tigers running deep routes as Sammy Watkins and DeAndre Hopkins – a pair of first-round draft picks – ran more complicated routes underneath.

But with the Steelers’ offense struggling to gain consistency at the midway point of last season, the coaching staff decided it was time to unleash the speedy rookie.

His first catch in Week 7 against Houston was a 35-yard touchdown reception. And the touchdowns kept coming – he had six in his first four games, matching Eric Green’s team record.

It garnered him plenty of attention, not only from fans, but from opposing teams as well.

“Towards the end of the season they (started double-teaming),” Bryant said. “And they weren’t pressing me as much. It’s a good adjustment. It makes the game more fun when they do that.

“I worked on the whole route tree this offseason. I’m much better than I was last season. I’ve come a long way.”

The opportunity to work more with Roethlisberger will help as well. Many times last year, the Steelers had to take Bryant off the field when they went to their no-huddle offense, which relies on hand signals and knowing what to do situationally.

That was the idea behind the quarterback taking the unit to Georgia.

“That was kind of the point, to get down there and get a jump on hand signals, understanding them, getting a jump on all of that stuff,” Roethlisberger said.

The pressure is on. Based on what he did in a small sample size last season, Bryant is being viewed by many as one of the league’s possible breakout candidates in 2015.

“That means that I have to work harder, continue to listen to my coaches, continue to listen to Ben, A.B. and go out and have fun,” Bryant said of those expecations. “I don’t try to think about the things I did last year because it’s a new year. Everybody gets better. All I’ve been thinking about is bettering my attributes and what I can do to get better and help us win games.”