The wide receiver position remains one of the biggest areas of need for the Pittsburgh Steelers ahead of the 2024 season, but the fact that the Steelers currently don’t have a true No. 2 pass catcher opposite George Pickens could prove quite advantageous for rookie Roman Wilson.
Wilson, selected in the third round of the 2024 NFL Draft at No. 84 overall, profiles as more of a slot receiver in the NFL due to his smaller stature, but that doesn’t take away from his toughness or play-making.
Though he was the 14th wide receiver taken in the 2024 NFL Draft, he’s stepping into one of the more favorable situations in the NFL from a receiver standpoint among all rookies in the 2024 NFL Draft class at the position, according to Pro Football Focus.
In a piece ranking the top 10 rookie wide receivers by situation, Wilson checked in at No. 10, one spot behind Cincinnati’s Jermaine Burton.
“The Steelers traded away their No. 2 wide receiver in Diontae Johnson, and the rumored trade for a top target has yet to materialize. While it’s tough to see Wilson supplanting George Pickens as the top target in Pittsburgh as a rookie, his path to the No. 2 spot is relatively clear,” PFF’s Gordon McGuinness writes. “That means that 80 or more targets is not out of the question for Wilson, and the Steelers’ quarterback situation is likely to be better in 2024 than it was in 2023.”
After trading Johnson early in the offseason in a swap for veteran cornerback Donte Jackson from the Carolina Panthers, the Steelers opened up a sizable hole on the depth chart offensively. That hole hasn’t quite been plugged despite the Steelers signing veterans Van Jefferson, Quez Watkins and Scotty Miller to the roster.
While Pittsburgh loves Wilson as a player and sees a lot of Hines Ward-like qualities in him, his projection to the NFL level is still a major one. Even with Wilson being more of a slot receiver than a guy who can play on the boundary, there is no denying his overall ability. He is tough as nails, blocks his tail off and makes some huge plays in contested-catch situations.
Without anyone but Pickens ahead of him to truly challenge for playing time and targets, Wilson could have a big rookie season, surpassing the numbers he put up at Michigan in 2023. In a run-heavy offense, he finished with 48 receptions for 789 yards and 12 touchdowns.
Pittsburgh will be a run-heavy team as well under head coach Mike Tomlin and new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, but it will also lean on the play-action pass, which is where Wilson had quite a bit of success in college. If he’s able to work out of the slot more in the NFL, he has the speed and the route-running abilities to create easy separation, which should lead to quite a bit of production.
That makes it relatively easy to see 4-5 targets a game, which would get him to that 80-plus target threshold that McGuinness sees for Wilson as a rookie.
