The Steelers have dedicated themselves to rebuilding their receiver room this offseason. A sore spot last season, the team made a massive trade earlier this offseason to acquire D.K. Metcalf. With him and George Pickens at the helm, this team has a great duo for the passing game to rely on.
Pittsburgh doesn’t seem to be done yet, either. They have shown a lot of interest in this receiver class, and it wouldn’t be shocking to see them add another in the draft. While the rebuild was needed, it leaves a major question mark around a recent draft pick.
As it stands right now, things aren’t looking good for Roman Wilson
Taken in the third round of the draft last year, the hope was for Wilson to help replace the savvy route running and play-after-the-catch ability of Diontae Johnson. He was productive at Michigan, and he provided a unique style for this offense.
The Pittsburgh Steelers could be done with Roman Wilson
Wilson struggled from the get-go. He was reportedly slow to learn early in the camp process, and then injuries derailed him and slowed him down. He was active for a single game before landing on injured reserve for the rest of the season.
There isn’t a great track record of receivers whose rookie year goes that poorly, only to turn around and find a role in future seasons. It would be one thing if the Steelers were preparing for him to have a larger role this year, but that doesn’t look like the case.
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You have your two starters (assuming Pickens isn’t traded away), and for an Arthur Smith offense, that is the bulk of what you need. He relies less on three receiver sets and slot receivers than most modern offenses.
Even when his scheme calls for a third receiver, Calvin Austin certainly earned a role last year. No, he isn’t an every down threat, but he can bust off a big play with his speed and plays hard every down.
If you add in another rookie receiver and even Ben Skowronek for run plays and his special teams ability, then suddenly Wilson is once again at the bottom of the depth chart. Simply put, I don’t think you can even write his roster spot in pen at this point.
What once seemed like a great value in the third round now looks like a massive bust. Wilson dropped the ball in every way as a rookie, and now, it appears as though the offense has moved past him ahead of the 2025 season.