The Pittsburgh Steelers’ overhaul of the wide receiver room behind George Pickens this year culminated with the third-round selection of Roman Wilson. The Michigan product had a standout senior season during the Wolverines’ title run with 12 touchdowns.
He also watched 13 wide receivers find new homes before he did, however. How much can you expect from the 14th wide receiver in a draft as a rookie? Well, a lot of that probably depends on what your alternatives are, and for Wilson, he’s on a team without a lot of intriguing alternatives.
Asked yesterday during his latest chat session if he believes the rookie will be a starter this year, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reporter Ray Fittipaldo said, “That’s largely up to Wilson”. He added, “If he can prove he’s a No. 2 then he’ll get the job. If not, they have to go out and find someone to fill that role”.
The Steelers turned over their wide receiver room since last season, with only two players returning from the 53-man roster. Outside of Pickens, they only retain Calvin Austin III, a 2022 fourth-round pick who spent his rookie season injured. The rest, including Wilson, are new to the organization.
While Pickens has All-Pro potential, the rest of the room is fairly anonymous. Austin caught all of 17 passes last year. The veterans they added in free agency, Quez Watkins and Van Jefferson, combined for 35 catches in 2023 with their respective teams. Jefferson played most of that year under new Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, as well.
But Jefferson and Watkins are both veterans with thousands of snaps worth of experience. They both have more than 1,000 career receiving yards and are familiar with the end zone. Notably, both also have meaningful postseason experience, with 11 games combined. There is value in that as well. Wilson, though he won a national title with Michigan, can’t replicate that.
Both Watkins and Jefferson have equally gifted athletic backgrounds compared to Wilson as well. Jefferson, for example, ran the same 40 time and Watkins is even faster. While the latter isn’t much of a route runner, that’s Jefferson’s best trait, arguably.
The truth is that a lot of wide receivers enter the league with a resume like Roman Wilson’s. After all, 13 teams opted to draft a wide receiver other than him this year before the Steelers took him. We don’t know what kind of NFL career he will carve out for himself.
But as Fittipaldo said, that is up to Roman Wilson to decide. He’s also said that it’s unfair to expect him to start right away, arguing for trading for a veteran. As a rookie, Wilson has a very good opportunity to see the field and contribute early. But he’ll still have to earn his role. The Steelers added players like Jefferson and Watkins because they believe they can contribute under Arthur Smith. Calvin Austin III isn’t going to just give up, either.
But if he’s getting open for Russell Wilson, then the other Wilson is probably going to be on the field. If he doesn’t, as Fittipaldo suggests, they may actually need to look for another answer on the outside. The outside of the Steelers organization, that is.
