After the Pittsburgh Steelers traded WR George Pickens to the Dallas Cowboys in early Could, the Steelers’ large receiver room turned a query mark once more. Final season, barring Pickens, Pittsburgh’s large receivers had been lackluster and unable to contribute a lot. Now, many followers have considerations that this 12 months will convey the identical issues, besides that as an alternative of Pickens being the lone succesful large receiver, D.Okay. Metcalf is.
Nonetheless, studies out of OTAs are that WR Roman Wilson has been impressing. NFL reporter Aditi Kinkhabwala was on 93.7 The Fan yesterday and mentioned Wilson has been working actually exhausting to have an effect after lacking virtually his total rookie season.
“I simply talked to any individual at the moment who was telling me that Roman Wilson has been working like a person aflame, that he’s all the time the final man out on the sphere engaged on the JUGS machine,” mentioned Kinkhabwala.
Wilson was Pittsburgh’s third-round decide within the 2024 NFL Draft. Sadly, he struggled with accidents final season, lacking virtually all of coaching camp and enjoying solely 5 snaps earlier than injuring his hamstring and lacking the rest of the season.
Out of the draft, Wilson was considered as a uncooked prospect. Nonetheless, as a result of he missed such a good portion of coaching camp, it made it tougher for him to make an impression. Couple that with one other damage in the course of the season, and as head coach Mike Tomlin mentioned, it was going to be exhausting for him to meet up with a shifting practice.
There have been some rumors throughout the season that Wilson was not selecting up the playbook to a suitable stage, however Steelers.com author Bob Labriola shot that down this offseason.
As a result of Roman Wilson missed principally his total rookie season, it’s straightforward to overlook about him. However, by all counts, he’s working his tail off to be a major contributor this 12 months. If he turns into that impression participant, it may assist out new QB Aaron Rodgers. The extra high quality targets Rodgers has, the higher he may be, as a result of he received’t should pressure the ball to both Metcalf or TE Pat Freiermuth. Wilson turning into a big-time contributor can unlock the Steelers’ offense in some ways, and probably flip them from playoff hopefuls into playoff winners.
Whereas the purpose is for Roman Wilson to be the Steelers’ WR2 this 12 months, expectations ought to be tempered. Wilson was not considered as a high large receiver prospect popping out of the 2024 NFL Draft, although he has the potential to be an excellent participant. The excellent news is that he’s working exhausting to make an impression this 12 months after a disappointing season final 12 months. The additional reps Wilson is taking on the finish of observe are very worthwhile, however what’s much more worthwhile is recreation reps. Sadly for Wilson, we haven’t seen him take many in opposition to NFL expertise but.
All studies are singing the praises of Roman Wilson early within the offseason. It is a good signal that he is usually a contributor this coming season and assist out a weak Pittsburgh large receiver room. Nonetheless, followers should watch out to not connect an excessive amount of expectation to a second-year participant who missed his rookie season. The adjustment from school to the NFL is huge, and sitting on the sideline and never enjoying doesn’t put together you sufficient to develop into a right away contributor, simply ask WR Calvin Austin III.
