The Pittsburgh Steelers’ 2024 draft class was widely praised as one of the best in the league. It was a good combination of addressing immediate needs with great value. Unfortunately, the injury bug hit the draft class throughout the preseason. OT Troy Fautanu dealt with a knee injury, WR Roman Wilson dealt with an ankle injury, and both sixth-round picks ended up on IR.
Fautanu has since returned, and Wilson appears to be getting close to working his way back into the lineup. According to one Steelers insider, the wait may be a little longer before Wilson actually contributes, however.
“As for Roman Wilson, don’t hold your breath,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Gerry Dulac wrote in his weekly Steelers chat. “He missed the entire preseason — not good for a rookie.”
Wilson was injured on the first day of padded practice in training camp. He was tackled on a jet sweep and his ankle rolled up under CB Anthony Averett as he was brought to the ground. He avoided a season-ending injury, but he missed the majority of training camp and all three preseason games.
He logged his first full practice last week on Thursday before finishing the week limited and being inactive for the Steelers’ Week 2 game in Denver. We will see where he lands on the injury report today, but Wilson recently told the media that he feels back to 100 percent and is ready to hit the ground running.
One fan asked Dulac if we would see much of Wilson prior to the bye.
“Probably not much,” Dulac wrote. “Though they will likely try to force-feed him into the lineup because he was a third-round pick.”
On one hand, Dulac is right that missing that much time and having next to zero experience in live NFL action could limit his opportunities for much of the season. But are the Steelers really going to hold him out considering what the rest of the receiving corps has accomplished through two weeks?
Other than George Pickens, Van Jefferson and Calvin Austin III are the only wide receivers with any catches. They have combined for just 28 yards.
Prior to Wilson’s injury, he was leading the team in receiving yards at training camp through the first four practices with seven catches on seven targets for 97 yards, per Alex Kozora’s training camp stats.
Mike Tomlin told the media last week that we could expect an uptick in Wilson’s participation as he works back from injury. He also stated he was excited to get Wilson back in the fold.
I would personally be surprised if we have to wait until the bye week to start seeing Wilson worked into the offense. With the lack of production from the rest of the group, what is there to lose?
