The Steelers finally remembered WR Roman Wilson is on their roster last week. Fellow receiver Calvin Austin III believes he’ll make a lasting impression. While Austin himself is on the verge of returning from injury, he remains an advocate for his guys. Speaking to Brian Batko of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, he had some high praise for the second-year wideout.
“It was big-time,”, he said of Wilson’s work against the Bengals last week. “I said when I first went out, I was excited for you guys and everybody else to see what we know Roman can do because we see it every day in practice. For him, that’s not even scratching the surface. He’s gonna continue to make big plays”.
Granted, Wilson’s stat line isn’t exactly going to blow you away. Officially, he caught two passes on two targets for 17 yards. Considering he only had two catches in his career going into the game that’s not so bad. Late in the game, he had a third reception converting on second and long, but a holding penalty wiped out the play.
The Steelers selected Roman Wilson in the third round of the 2024 NFL Draft. As a rookie, he injured his ankle on the first day of padded practices in training camp. That injury lingered into the regular season, delaying his debut for weeks. After playing five snaps in one game, he injured his hamstring, eventually landing on the Reserve/Injured list.
The talk surrounding the second-year receiver remained high this offseason, but that hasn’t translated into consistent playing time. While he played 33 snaps against the Bengals, that was largely a byproduct of Austin’s injury. With Austin returning, what will that do to Wilson’s playing time?
For his part, Wilson is staying in his lane and continuing to go to work. He did tell Batko that “the player [the Steelers] thought they drafted, that’s who I am”. Of course, he is still waiting for a greater opportunity to actually show it.
One thing that could help him do just that is growing his connection with QB Aaron Rodgers. If he likes throwing to Wilson, he’ll be on the field more. And the more he’s on the field, the more opportunities he’ll have to see targets. It helps that he is willing to block in the run game, too, even if he isn’t the biggest receiver.
Even though we’ve still seen relatively little of him, Roman Wilson remains a talented young player with promise. We won’t really know more about his full potential unless or until the Steelers start playing him more. And all we can do in the meantime is wait and see how they distribute snaps on a weekly basis. Sometimes they use four tight ends, at others, two running backs. It’s not easy being a third wide receiver right now in Pittsburgh.
