Despite trading for DK Metcalf, the wide receiver room still looked like a weakness for the Pittsburgh Steelers going into this season. There was hope that Roman Wilson would produce for the Steelers, though. While he missed basically his entire rookie season, the Steelers spent a third-round pick on Wilson, so they hoped he would become a positive contributor. Unfortunately, he hasn’t done much yet this year. Calvin Austin III still believes in Wilson, though.
“I don’t have nothing crazy, nothing different or new [to say],” Austin said Monday via the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s YouTube channel. “Roman [Wilson] is very talented. He works hard every single day. And when he gets the opportunity, he will prove and show who he is.”
So far, Wilson has only one catch for seven yards this year. He’s been a non-factor on the Steelers’ offense. That’s disappointing. They don’t have great depth behind Metcalf, and Wilson had a solid preseason and training camp. It looked like he’d at least have some role with the team’s offense, but that hasn’t been the case.
Part of that may be a result of Austin’s success and how the Steelers’ offense is designed. In four games, he has 10 catches, 139 yards, and two touchdowns. While that isn’t incredible production, their offense tries not to be too pass-heavy. Therefore, there isn’t much room for receivers to get a ton of production. Still, Austin has delivered when called upon.
However, Austin left the team’s Week 4 game with an injury, and it sounds like he’s likely to miss at least their next game. That could give Wilson an opportunity to prove himself.
He’s still a young player, though, so despite his slow start to his career, there’s no reason to count him out yet. Similar to Wilson, Austin missed his entire rookie season due to an injury. Then, in his first year back, he didn’t do much, only catching 17 passes. However, he’s now grown into a quality depth piece.
Perhaps Wilson will follow in Austin’s footsteps. His teammates continue to have his back. There’s a lot of the season remaining this year. Wilson could make the most of his opportunities and become a quality player. We’ll see if he takes a step forward in Week 6.
