While there’s plenty of speculation about the outside additions the Pittsburgh Steelers could make to replace George Pickens, they seem confident in who they already have to fill the void.
“Team counting on Roman Wilson Year 2 jump. This offseason he looks like a different player than from his injury-riddled rookie campaign,” ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler wrote as part of this Wednesday tweet reacting to the Pickens trade.
Multiple injuries limited Roman Wilson to just five offensive snaps and zero receptions as a rookie. A third-round pick in 2024, he suffered an ankle injury during the team’s first padded practice in training camp and missed the rest of the summer. Returning by midseason, Wilson dressed for the Steelers’ Week 6 win over the Las Vegas Raiders but did not catch a pass.
He soon suffered a hamstring injury that knocked him out for the rest of the season and though Pittsburgh opened his window to practice late in the year, he wasn’t activated off injured reserve.
The Steelers have just begun their offseason program, and their first OTA session isn’t until late this month. But evidently, Wilson has impressed the Steelers with the work he’s put in so far.
Prior to the Pickens trade, Wilson was possibly buried on the depth chart as the No. 4 wide receiver and even lower on the passing game totem pole behind TE Pat Freiermuth and the Steelers’ running backs. Now, Wilson could rotate into the starting lineup as Pittsburgh weighs who should replace the bulk of Pickens’ snaps. A job won’t be handed to him, and Calvin Austin III is coming off a breakout season, a hard worker the team likes having in the locker room. Pittsburgh also signed veteran Robert Woods as a crafty veteran option, though he’s clearly at the end of his career.
If the Steelers don’t plan on making a big receiver splash — and finding options even if that’s their desire will be difficult — they could be putting their hopes on Roman Wilson becoming the receiver they envisioned after drafting him as Diontae Johnson’s replacement. Now, he’ll fill the gap left by Pickens, too.
