While things didn’t go as well as possible in Denver, QB Russell Wilson still had his moments. Most of those came with Courtland Sutton on the other end, among them 10 touchdowns last year. The odds of the Steelers trading for Sutton seem to be dwindling, but they have other wide receivers for Wilson.
That includes a new Wilson, third-rounder Roman Wilson, with whom Brian Baldinger believes Russell Wilson can build a quick rapport. Baldinger sees the quarterback building chemistry with his new weapons as he did in Seattle.
“Roman Wilson might remind him a little bit of Tyler Lockett”, he said on 93.7 The Fan yesterday. “One thing I remember about Russell [is], when DK Metcalf was drafted, they had him pegged as just a go-route guy and a guy that played out on the edge, but we found out he could run every route pretty well.
“Russell built pretty instant chemistry with him. They had a lot of success right away with DK Metcalf. And I think Russell will get together with [George] Pickens and Roman and the group right now and I think he’ll start building that timing with them”.
Metcalf has a considerably bigger frame than Pickens, but otherwise, their games certainly bear a degree of resemblance. They’re both deep threats who are dangerous after the catch and have grown or are growing in their route tree.
Russell Wilson made that relationship with Metcalf work at a high level. Pickens is arguably just as talented as any wide receiver he’s worked with before, though, and Roman Wilson being Russell Wilson’s next Tyler Lockett certainly wouldn’t be a bad thing. That’s basically his Hines Ward.
In their final four seasons together, Wilson and Lockett connected on 312 receptions for 4,251 yards and 36 touchdowns. Wilson knew how to build a connection with him, the way he also managed to do with Courtland Sutton in Denver.
He’ll do the same with his new targets in Pittsburgh, namely Pickens and Roman Wilson, Baldinger believes. The veteran quarterback already put together one offseason workout, and I’m sure he’ll hold more—with greater attendance—after minicamp.
Right now, the players are already gathering at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex for the first phases of offseason training. OTAs are just around the corner, it seems, though work is still light at that point. It does seem as though Russell Wilson is making an extra effort to ingratiate himself to his new town, new team, and new teammates.
Those efforts, one hopes, will pay dividends both on and off the field. Beyond that, I’m not going to speculate how much Wilson and Pickens have been in touch so far. There’s time for that, and at the end of the day, the proof will be in the pudding. But he has a history of developing strong connections with players like Metcalf and Sutton, including just last season.
