Promising Steelers Wide Receiver Gets Stamp of Approval from Jon Gruden
The Steelers signed wide receiver D.K. Metcalf in March of this year. This appeared to solve their problem of not having a good secondary wide receiver. However, it wasn’t long until they traded wide receiver George Pickens to the Dallas Cowboys. Following the trade, many fans and analysts believed that the team was back to lacking a solid wide receiver two option. The Steelers don’t seem to be concerned about it, though. They have faith in their second-year wide receiver, Roman Wilson. Former Super Bowl-winning head coach and current NFL analyst Jon Gruden gave Wilson his stamp of approval in his division recap videos ahead of this season. Gruden said, “You're going to see Calvin Austin, D.K. Metcalf, and I think you're going to see a lot of Roman Wilson. He is a hell of a player...Everybody right now is saying, ‘Hey, the Steelers don't have any wideouts, man.’ Wait until you see Roman Wilson.”
Wilson was unable to compete in any preseason games during the 2024 preseason because of a hamstring injury. He didn’t seem to gain much momentum throughout the rest of last season. Wilson was impressive this preseason. In the Steelers’ first preseason game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Wilson only played two drives. He finished with two receptions for 26 yards. Wilson’s playing in the Steelers’ second preseason game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was excellent. With approximately a quarter of playtime, Wilson got two receptions for 72 yards, including a deep ball from quarterback Mason Rudolph. Wilson was the Steelers’ leading receiver of the game. Wilson forged a connection with quarterback Aaron Rodgers this offseason.
Steelers wide receivers coach Zach Azzanni praised Wilson for doing a great job against press coverage. He remarked, “He’s crafty. He’s got some speed, and he’s starting to use his hands well. His releases are improving. He didn’t have to do that in Michigan. He did a good job of moving around and punching him, and motioning him to get him free. So he never really had to go against press coverage. Beating the press is big for him. He’s starting to make strides there.” ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler believes that the Steelers are very confident in Wilson’s abilities. He said, “The Steelers haven’t signed more veteran receivers up to this point in part because they are high on Roman Wilson, who impressed both in the joint practice with the Bucs and the game.”
The Steelers chose Wilson in the third round of the 2024 NFL Draft. Wilson played college football for the Michigan Wolverines. During his time with Michigan, the team won three consecutive Big 10 Conference titles. Wilson was a starter for every game of the 2023 season. The Wolverines won the National Championship in 2023. That same year, Wilson was named a second-team All-Big 10 selection. Wilson amassed 48 receptions for 789 yards and 12 touchdowns throughout the 2023 season.
