Steelers Reportedly Might Not Be Planning On Using Rookie WR Roman Wilson Anytime Soon
The Pittsburgh Steelers have started the 2024 season exactly how they’ve needed to, specifically because of a brutal eight-game stretch to end the campaign. The defense has been all kinds of dominant, while the special teams unit has also contributed week in and week out. The growth of Justin Fields has been nice to watch when it comes to the offense, but there remains work to be done on that side of the ball. The organization could absolutely mess around in the trade market in the coming months, especially if no one on the roster separates himself as a clear number two option opposite of George Pickens.
Pittsburgh wasn’t able to land a top-notch wideout at any point in the offseason, but decided to address the position in the 2024 NFL Draft. General Manager Omar Khan elected to draft University of Michigan wide receiver, Roman Wilson. Unfortunately, the rookie has been sidelined with an ankle injury that has kept him off of the field. Despite being a full participant in practice days before the team’s Week 3 game, he was inactive.
Head Coach Mike Tomlin told the media on Tuesday that he doesn’t want Wilson jumping on a moving train. In other words, he wants to ease him into his first reps in the NFL. During one of Gerry Dulac’s fan chats for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, someone asked if the wide receiver would be getting a helmet in Week 4 against the Indianapolis Colts. It’s safe to say Dulac doesn’t believe so, and it could be longer than fans are anticipating before they get to see Wilson dress for a game.
“Probably not. Going to be a while,” Dulac wrote.
This is certainly a concerning comment. The draft class in 2024 was extremely talented, and a wide receiver-needy team in the Steelers decided to only draft one, and in the third round. As each week goes by, Wilson is not getting the chance to develop when it comes to in-game repetitions. Tomlin is right to ease him back in, but if he is healthy, it’s about time that he get a chance to make a difference for the offense (assuming he’s comfortable with the new playbook).
Wilson was a red zone machine at Michigan, hauling in 12 touchdowns in his final season in college. The Steelers could use another weapon on offense overall, but getting someone on the field who has a knack for finding the end zone is even more crucial. Calvin Austin III had a tremendous outing in Week 3, but it sure would be nice for fans to get a glimpse of what the rookie can do.
No one is quite sure what the timetable for Wilson is to return. It still remains possible for him to be on the active roster in Week 4, but Dulac doesn’t think that Tomlin is in any rush to give the wideout the green light. It becomes more interesting if Jaylen Warren can’t play, because then Cordarrelle Patterson would likely have several more duties in the backfield, which could lead to Wilson finally getting his chance as a wide receiver.
Wilson can’t be held on the sidelines forever and, at some point, Pittsburgh needs to know exactly what it has in the young play-maker. He could be the final piece to the puzzle that the offense needs.
Steelers Can Only Rely On Dominant Defense For So Long
Pittsburgh’s defensive unit has allowed just 26 points through three weeks. It’s pretty simple for an offense to average more than 8.7 points per game. At some point, however, the team is going to need to put more points on the board. Week 3 was a good start, but plenty has to be done on that side of the ball to develop a championship-caliber team. Wilson suiting up could be crucial, but it may not happen for several weeks.
