How will the Pittsburgh Steelers try to replace their leading receiver from the last two seasons? Second-year WR Roman Wilson might be a large factor in that plan. While poorly timed injuries kept him behind the eight ball in his rookie season, he now has a full year of mental reps and a full offseason of preparation to propel him to a solid 2025 season for the Steelers.
“They really like Roman Wilson, but they haven’t seen him on the field,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Gerry Dulac said Wednesday on the 102.5 WDVE Morning Show with Randy Baumann. “They really like him, but they still gotta see him on the field.”
It’s risky to rely too much on a player who missed virtually all of training camp and a good chunk of the season with two separate injuries. But at the same time, the Steelers made Wilson a third-round pick for a reason. Day 2 picks are usually expected to become starters sooner rather than later in the NFL. It doesn’t always work out that way (see DeMarvin Leal), but that is at least the intention when they are drafted.
Even had Wilson stayed healthy last season, reports suggested that the team didn’t view him as ready to contribute. But ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported yesterday that the team is “counting on” him and that he looks like a different player than last offseason.
Mike Tomlin seemed to really like him during the pre-draft process last year, as evidenced by some high praise he had for Wilson at the Senior Bowl. I was in Mobile, and he was easily the most impressive receiver there. He torched eventual first-round CB Quinyon Mitchell in one-on-ones multiple times. His quickness and route-running skills are two things that have been missing from the Steelers since Diontae Johnson was productive a few years ago.
It was only the unpadded practices in Latrobe, but it is worth reminding everybody that Wilson was the team’s leading receiver over the first four days of training camp last year. He caught all seven of his targets for 97 yards and a touchdown over those first four days.
Regardless of whom else the Steelers may bring in this offseason, expect Wilson to be a big part of their plans.
