PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Tyler Boyd, DJ Chark, Odell Beckham—as free agent receivers come off the board, back-up plans sign elsewhere (Allen Robinson), receivers signed are journeymen and trade rumors are shot down, the potential role for third-round pick Roman Wilson increases. His first opportunity to show Steelers coaches what he can do is this weekend.
He doesn’t come in with the huge resume. No thousand-yard seasons, not even really close. Never caught 50 passes in a year, but what he did was win and played his tail off. He’s got instincts, competitiveness, energy and athleticism.
Can he be a difference-maker with the Steelers as a rookie?
You might think a 5’11” receiver with a lot of heart speaks to a slot receiver. He might do that, but there is more to his game. Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith said he’s got versatility. Smith described it as ‘inside-out flex’.
Wilson has made the big plays, but he’s also made the key third-down receptions. In his senior season Wilson said he ‘turned it up a notch’ working harder on and off the field, committed himself to the game and caught 48 passes, 25% of those receptions were for touchdowns including the one that forced overtime in the National Championship semi-final against Alabama.
The yards-per-catch also jump off the page. In his final year at Michigan he averaged 16.4 yards every catch. He averaged 16.0 yards per catch over his career with 20 touchdowns.
Smith said as you study the tape you saw that Wilson was a great teammate, but that doesn’t mean he’s passive or lacks the ability to catch.
“You know, everybody wants the ball and that's great,” Smith said. “You want guys that want the ball. I have a problem with guys that don't want to work. I think the tape shows a lot about your personality. People can say what they want, but you look at their actions and certainly Roman’s pops off to the tape backs up when you meet them in person.”
The 185-pound Wilson is also a willing blocker.
“Some of it is hunger and just looking to make the most out of every opportunity,” Wilson said. “For someone that has been doubted on and somebody that just wants to prove everybody wrong.”
“I feel like if your mindset is to win a game, you’re going to go out there and do whatever your coach asked you to do to help the team win. At Michigan, for me it was blocking, so if I want to win the game, I'm going to go out there and I'm going to block my ass off.”
He is using some of that hunger to try and show the Steelers he’s more than just a blocker. He dropped ONE pass last year, it was that he didn’t get chances. He believes he was a top 10 receiver in the NFL Draft and was passed over time and time and again. Part of the reason he’s been compared to Hines Ward is that chip on his shoulder.
Michigan was a team that rushed it 202 more times than it attempted a pass. Wilson plans on coming in and playing right away. But what he figured out with the Wolverines is the goal is set on being a champion and nothing else.
“I learned about winning is that I think winning is more important than anything you could ever do on the field,” Wilson said. “I feel like your main focus should just be winning instead of just trying to put up some crazy stat line. It just helped me focus on just winning and doing whatever I need to do to win a game.”
The clay is ready to be molded. Could Wilson develop into a number two receiver for George Pickens? He might be given a shot if for no other reason than necessity.