After the Pittsburgh Steelers traded WR George Pickens to the Dallas Cowboys in early May, the Steelers’ wide receiver room became a question mark again. Last season, barring Pickens, Pittsburgh’s wide receivers were lackluster and unable to contribute much. Now, many fans have concerns that this year will bring the same problems, except that instead of Pickens being the lone capable wide receiver, D.K. Metcalf is.
However, reports out of OTAs are that WR Roman Wilson has been impressing. NFL reporter Aditi Kinkhabwala was on 93.7 The Fan yesterday and said Wilson has been working really hard to have an impact after missing almost his entire rookie season.
“I just talked to somebody today who was telling me that Roman Wilson has been working like a man aflame, that he’s always the last guy out on the field working on the JUGS machine,” said Kinkhabwala.
Wilson was Pittsburgh’s third-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. Unfortunately, he struggled with injuries last season, missing almost all of training camp and playing only five snaps before injuring his hamstring and missing the remainder of the season.
Out of the draft, Wilson was viewed as a raw prospect. However, because he missed such a significant portion of training camp, it made it harder for him to make an impact. Couple that with another injury in the middle of the season, and as head coach Mike Tomlin said, it was going to be hard for him to catch up with a moving train.
There were some rumors during the season that Wilson was not picking up the playbook to an acceptable level, but Steelers.com writer Bob Labriola shot that down this offseason.
Because Roman Wilson missed basically his entire rookie season, it is easy to forget about him. But, by all counts, he is working his tail off to be a significant contributor this year. If he becomes that impact player, it could help out new QB Aaron Rodgers. The more quality targets Rodgers has, the better he can be, because he won’t have to force the ball to either Metcalf or TE Pat Freiermuth. Wilson becoming a big-time contributor can unlock the Steelers’ offense in many ways, and potentially turn them from playoff hopefuls into playoff winners.
While the goal is for Roman Wilson to be the Steelers’ WR2 this year, expectations should be tempered. Wilson was not viewed as a top wide receiver prospect coming out of the 2024 NFL Draft, even though he has the potential to be a very good player. The good news is that he is working hard to make an impact this year after a disappointing season last year. The extra reps Wilson is taking at the end of practice are very valuable, but what’s even more valuable is game reps. Unfortunately for Wilson, we haven’t seen him take many against NFL talent yet.
All reports are singing the praises of Roman Wilson early in the offseason. This is a good sign that he can be a contributor this coming season and help out a weak Pittsburgh wide receiver room. However, fans have to be careful not to attach too much expectation to a second-year player who missed his rookie season. The adjustment from college to the NFL is massive, and sitting on the sideline and not playing doesn’t prepare you enough to become an immediate contributor, just ask WR Calvin Austin III.
