List season is coming to an end, with training camp just a few days away. But why not add one more to the pile as Bleacher Report’s Matt Holder offered up each NFL team’s biggest breakout candidate. In a bit of a surprise, he named rookie WR Roman Wilson for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
“Wilson is the first rookie breakout candidate as he has an excellent opportunity to immediately become the Steelers’ No. 2 receiver behind George Pickens,” Holder wrote. “The Michigan product’s biggest competition for that role will be Van Jefferson, who is playing for his third team in two years, so the third-round pick should see plenty of targets this fall.”
The opportunity is certainly there, but the same could be said for a few different receivers on the team. Jefferson, as he mentioned, will be among the receivers competing for the WR2 role opposite Pickens. But you also have to include Calvin Austin III in the mix as well.
Every season, there seems to be a rookie receiver who breaks out and exceeds expectations. Of course, Puka Nacua was the prime example of that last season, breaking rookie receiving records as a fifth-round pick. Unless the Steelers add a receiver via trade, one of the receivers will emerge with a healthy share of targets and receptions per game.
Wilson has more experience playing in the slot than he does out wide, and he was a part of Michigan’s run-first offense that didn’t have him running the full route tree that he will need in the NFL. That being said, he is highly competitive, has great hands, and knows how to create separation out of his breaks.
Steelers insider Mark Kaboly recently said that Wilson has the best chance to alleviate the team’s WR2 need and even went as far as to say he’s the only guy who can do that.
Wilson was pretty dominant at the Senior Bowl and even proved his mettle against the first corner selection in the draft, Quinyon Mitchell. Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin challenged Mitchell and Wilson to go against each other in the individual drills as much as possible, and Wilson fared well. He was the talk of Mobile, but some of that hype has been tamped down by various reports out of spring practices. One said he was thinner than expected, while another said he looked less ready to contribute right away.
It is hard to pull too much meaningful info out of the spring practices. Players aren’t in pads, and the rookies are still trying to get their feet underneath them by learning the playbook and meshing with their new teammates. Training camp will be a clean slate to shrug off any negative reports from the spring.
One big reason that Wilson could earn a big role as a rookie is his ability to block. Michigan had him do a lot of it, and he takes that part of his game seriously. The Steelers also figure to be a run-first offense, so his commitment to blocking could get him on the field.
I am not sure I would label him a breakout candidate, but he could definitely carve out a role as the second or third wide receiver.
