For the third time this decade, the Pittsburgh Steelers have drafted a wide receiver in Roman Wilson who loves blocking. At least that’s what he says, but Chase Claypool and George Pickens didn’t quite sustain their interest. Neither did JuJu Smith-Schuster and James Washington before them, to a lesser extent.
Interestingly, Roman Wilson is the smallest of all of these Day 2 wide receivers taken since 2017. All of them came out of college known to have some reputation as a blocker and a physical player. All of them showed some aptitude for it to some degree in the Black and Gold. None, however, would rank among any non-Steelers fan’s list of top blocking wide receivers. Wilson beginning in 2024 will be the latest to try, coming into the league with a “no block, no rock” mentality. Even at a smaller size.
“There’s some dudes in the league now, and I’m not gonna shy down from that”, Wilson told Kevin Adams and Jersey Jerry on a new episode of the Steel Here podcast. “You win some, you lose some, but I feel like as a receiver, and especially as not the biggest guy, as long as you go in and you get in the way, even if you get knocked down, it’s still good”.
“But for me”, he added, “going in there and blocking someone, knocking their ass on the ground, bro, that’s one of the best feelings you can have at any position. It’s such a good feeling”.
Wilson is just shy of 6-0 and told his hosts that he wants to play at 188 pounds. He said he is currently a bit heavier than that, so he is actually aiming to lose some weight, not gain it. But he seems to view himself first and foremost as a slot player. He’s likely to line up against smaller defensive backs more often than not when he sees the field.
Either way, the mentality that he comes into the league with certainly meshes with the Steelers’. Under new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, his wide receivers have to expect to block. Wilson said that Jim Harbaugh instilled that mentality into his receivers at Michigan; he has trodden this ground before.
But it’s also good that he understands he’ll have a tougher time blocking in the NFL. He’s ready to find himself on his own backside often enough, but as long as he deters the defender from making a tackle or having an impact on the play, he’s not one to split hairs.
Wilson’s willingness to participate in the blocking game should only aid him in seeing the field early. The way things are going right now, he may well be one of the Steelers’ starting wide receivers. They may like to add another significant name before the start of the season, but if not, they’ll have someone willing to do whatever the coaches ask of him—which doesn’t always seem assured in the wide receiver room.
