Roman Wilson figures to give Arthur Smith a weapon he has never truly had before in his NFL coaching career, or at least that’s what Underdog Sports analyst Josh Norris believes.
In a recent episode of the Underdog NFL Draft Show, Norris said that Wilson’s speed from the slot is something his team’s have lacked over the years.
“Speaking of Arthur Smith, I don’t think he had a Roman Wilson-esque player in Atlanta,” said Norris.
However, the NFL draft analyst was quick to point out that while Smith may not have had a player similar to Wilson on his roster, Russell Wilson had.
“I do think that Russell Wilson has played, though, with Roman Wilson-esque routes. We looked at Roman Wilson at Michigan and it was a lot of east and west crossers from the slot, deep crossers in fact. Russ off deep play action would throw those all the time in Seattle.”
Norris goes on to say that Russell Wilson had success with similar receivers in Tyler Lockett and Doug Baldwin who both dominated in the slot due to their speed.
Roman Wilson figures to be used in a similar way, capitalizing on his speed through pre-snap motions into the slot or just positioning him there from the start to stress defenses across the field.
Interestingly enough, one of the most common comparisons Roman Wilson drew in the pre-draft process was Lockett. Among the premier deep threats in the NFL, Lockett fits an extremely similar profile.
Both players are a hair under six-foot, sub-180 lbs, who ran right around 4.4. To make an even deeper comparison, both players were drafted in the third round with Lockett being the 64th pick and Wilson going at the 84th spot.
Former Broncos receiver Eddie Royal is a player I have often compared Wilson to throughout the draft process.
From build to play-style, the two play an extremely similar game winning with nuanced speed throughout their routes.
Royal, a better receiver than given credit for, served the Broncos, Bears and Chargers as a reliable speed threat from the slot, something Wilson seems poised to do.
While we would obviously hope for more of a Lockett career trajectory for Wilson, he figures to be a useful and reliable weapon for the Steelers this season as Smith and Russell Wilson look to capitalize on his skills.
