Ever since the Pittsburgh Steelers traded WR Diontae Johnson to the Carolina Panthers in March, there’s been a lot of rumblings over who the Steelers will add to replace him as the outside receiver opposite George Pickens. Pittsburgh signed Van Jefferson and Quez Watkins, but neither looks like a legitimate option to be the No. 2 wideout. Enter Roman Wilson, Pittsburgh’s first of two third-round picks in the 2024 NFL Draft. Wilson could be a slot receiver for the Steelers, but even if the team adds a capable option on the outside, Wilson could still see work outside and end up as Pittsburgh’s No. 2 wideout.
One of the things that’s going to work against Wilson playing outside is his size. At the NFL Scouting Combine, he measured in at 5106 and 185 pounds, but coming out of Toledo in 2019, Johnson was 5104 and 183 pounds, and he worked out just fine as an outside receiver in Pittsburgh. Furthering the idea that I think Wilson could be utilized whether in the slot or the outside is Arthur Smith’s comments about his versatility and being able to play inside or out as a rookie.
“He’s got versatility. As the game’s evolved and if you do motion and you play condensed on early downs, on the X to Z it’s kind of interchangeable. Now you’re getting into some of the drop-back situations in the passing downs, he’s got inside-out flex, certainly you look his instincts, you can play inside on those kind of obvious pass situations. But he’ll have a lot of versatility, he’s got a lot of instincts, again, high football character guy,” Smith said after the Steelers selected Wilson, via Steelers.com.
Warren Sharp posted data the other day looking at the percentage of teams using three wide-receiver sets. Last season the Atlanta Falcons, the team Smith was previously the head coach of, had by far the fewest amount, as they used three receivers on just 18% of plays. The second-lowest team was the San Francisco 49ers at 39%.
Dave Bryan looked at Smith’s wide receiver usage earlier this offseason to point out that the Steelers likely wouldn’t make a big free agency addition. While that was before the trade of Johnson, it’s not hard to fathom the team using Pickens and Wilson as their two primary receivers.
The Steelers still need to add another receiver. But the options available aren’t all that exciting right now, with DJ Chark and Michael Gallup off the market and Tyler Boyd likely signing elsewhere. There still might be some releases, and with how aggressive the Steelers have been, it’s impossible to rule out the team making a swing for a big-name receiver, and DK Metcalf could be an option. But the Steelers are going to get Wilson on the field, and the chances of him ending up as the second-most productive receiver on the team behind Pickens aren’t as low as one might think.
I do think Wilson is best suited for the slot, as that’s where he has the most experience over the last two seasons and his most production came in the slot. But he’ll move around a little bit for the Steelers, and he could be their second receiver on the field along with Pickens on the majority of downs even if they do add a bigger option more suited for the outside, which they should.
But Wilson could easily see a few snaps a game on the outside, and most of his routes run last season were deep crosses and out routes, as he ran 36 deep crosses and 33 out routes, per Sports Info Solutions. As a shifty outside receiver with speed, those two routes could open up the possibility for Wilson to make plays along the sideline or deep downfield and beat corners with his speed.
I’ll admit it’s probably not the ideal situation, but with the market drying up, Wilson possibly functioning as the Steelers’ No. 2 wideout is a real possibility. There’s still plenty of time between now and Week 1 and the Steelers will likely still add another option at receiver, but Wilson just may end up being the team’s most productive non-Pickens wideout in 2024.
