The Pittsburgh Steelers entered the 2024 NFL Draft with the need for a WR2 opposite George Pickens. They took Michigan WR Roman Wilson in the third round, but it still remains to be seen if he can step into that type of role as a rookie. He played the majority of his college snaps in the slot, and his 5106, 186-pound stature will be something to overcome on the outside. The Steelers have filled out the WR room with a bunch of guys, but the pecking order between Van Jefferson, Calvin Austin III, Scotty Miller, Quez Watkins, and others will need to be sorted out over the course of OTAs and into training camp.
Do they have enough at the position right now that they could enter the 2024 season without making any other moves? That might be a question they are looking to answer over the course of OTAs.
“If Roman Wilson doesn’t step up and assume that number two job then I think trade rumors and all that other stuff will resurface here later in the summer,” Steelers insider Ray Fittipaldo said via the Post-Gazette’s North Short Drive podcast with Christopher Carter.
With the dwindling options on the free agent market, our Dave Bryan recently wrote about the Steelers needing to add a wide receiver via trade, if one is added at all. The next date that could help move the market is June 1, when teams can execute post-June 1 trades to help spread out cap hits between this year and next. DK Metcalf, Courtland Sutton, and perhaps some of the San Francisco 49ers receivers could cycle back into the conversation over the next month or two leading up to camp.
But that gets back to the point that Roman Wilson has a real opportunity to earn a significant role with the team in Year 1, and he has sounded determined to do so since being drafted.
“I want to start and I want to be the reason we win some of these games,” Wilson said via Steel Here podcast a couple weeks ago.
He thought the Steelers were going to draft him at No. 51 overall in the second round, and that aligns with reports that he was the target if Zach Frazier wouldn’t have been available. Would perception have changed if he was ultimately taken in the second round in terms of his likelihood to be a Year 1 starter? His tape is his tape, and his college experience in the slot wouldn’t have changed, but typically a second-round player can expect to start sooner rather than later.
Arthur Smith’s offensive system doesn’t historically use slot receivers as much as other teams around the league, so it might not have made sense to have second-round interest in a player the Steelers view as a pure slot.
That being said, Omar Khan said on the Jim Rome show following the draft that there is still some unfinished business in terms of rounding out the roster prior to the season. Could that be at wide receiver, cornerback, or both?
OTAs and the post-June 1 trade window will provide clarity in these matters, so we won’t have to wait too much longer to find out.
