Both Roman Wilson and the Steelers’ offense had their best day of training camp yesterday, and both really needed it. After the defense dominated the first day in pads, the offense flipped the script the following morning. Despite taking a loss in Seven Shots, Aaron Rodgers looked more crisp, and his playmakers made plays.
That included a nice vertical catch for Roman Wilson, beating CB Joey Porter Jr. over the top. It was the highlight of his training camp so far, and really, the highlight of his career. As a reminder, he didn’t even make it this far during his rookie year. After suffering an injury on the first day of padded practice, we hardly saw him again.
The Steelers selected Roman Wilson in the third round of the 2024 NFL Draft. After effectively redshirting, he is vying for playing time against Calvin Austin III and a bevy of skill position players. Catches like the one he made in practice yesterday will help him separate from the pack.
“Just a one-on-one deep ball. Just a ‘go get it’ mentality. It was a good rep”, Wilson said of the play, via the Steelers’ website, saying it felt good to finally put something like that on tape. “That was a great play. I love when the fans are out here. I love their reactions to everything, the good and the bad. And I feel like every rep I take out there, I can build from it, no matter what it is”.
The Steelers may have high hopes for Wilson, but he still has to earn his chances. As a rookie, he played in just one game, logging five snaps, before going down with another injury. This year, he has had a full offseason and has tried to hit the ground running.
That’s not how he started out in training camp, though. Indeed, Wilson had a quiet start, even if not doing anything actively bad. He simply did nothing that would generate much attention, one way or the other. But that was really true for the offense as a whole, minus some plays in Seven Shots.
Roman Wilson hopes to use that play as a springboard upon which to build. Right now, he is set up as the Steelers’ third receiver behind DK Metcalf and Calvin Austin III. But in an offense including Pat Freiermuth, Jonnu Smith, Darnell Washington, and Kenneth Gainwell, that doesn’t promise much work. Not that he is afraid to earn his job.
“I really love how competitive it is this year. Guys are getting after it. I love to be a part of it”, Wilson said of his first extended work since the spring. “Feels good to be back”.
