With just over a week until the NFL Draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers still haven’t found the answer to the wide receiver problem they created this offseason.
That could indicate the team is planning on finding their answer in the draft.
There are a lot of options at the position in a draft class that is loaded with wide receiver talent.
One of those options that played his college ball for a powerhouse program recently receiver some support as a fit for Pittsburgh.
The PFF PIT Steelers Twitter account shared a post on April 15 calling former Michigan wide receiver Roman Wilson a perfect fit for the Steelers on day two of the draft.
Steelers’ Interest in Wilson
The Steelers have shown plenty of interest in Wilson throughout the pre-draft process.
The team got a look at him at the Senior Bowl. They attended Michigan’s Pro Day and Wilson was also brought in for a pre-draft visit.
Those last two are strong indicators that the Steelers are really considering him as an option for the draft and it seems they’ve had that interest in him for a while.
Head coach Mike Tomlin had a strong opinion of Wilson at the Senior Bowl. According to NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah, Tomlin told Toledo corner Quinyon Mitchell that Wilson was the best receiver at the Senior Bowl.
During an appearance on the April 15 episode of the “Bootleg Football” podcast, Jeremiah said, “To the point where Mike Tomlin challenged him after the first day and said, ‘Hey, Roman Wilson is the best receiver in your group through the first day. Every time he steps to the line, you should be at the front of the line going against him.’ ”
It’s obvious the Steelers have some interest in him as their potential answer at WR2, but he is a bit of a risky prospect for teams looking to draft him.
A Risky Prospect
Right now, the Steelers have a wide receiver problem.
The only receiver on their roster right now that had reached 250 yards last season is George Pickens.
That leaves them badly needing to find a WR2 if their improvements at quarterback are going to make a difference for their offense in 2024.
However, they probably aren’t going to address that need in the first round.
They also have needs at center and offensive tackle and they are expected to take one of those first. The betting odds for them to take an offensive lineman continue to go up and DraftKings Sportsbook currently has that outcome as a huge favorite at -330.
If they do end up taking a lineman in round one and they don’t address their receiver need before the draft, they’ll have to find somebody that can fill the role in round two or three.
Wilson is an interesting option if they try to get their receiver in round two.
His production profile isn’t the most impressive. Wilson’s best season in college came this past season when he made 48 catches for 789 yards and 12 touchdowns.
However, that may have more to do with the offense he was in than a talent issue. Michigan ran the ball 37.5 times per game in 2023 and more than 40 times per game in 2022.
That isn’t the only problem with him as a prospect, though. He’s also old for a player entering the draft. He’ll be 23 at the start of the 2024 season and had a 13th percentile breakout age in college.
There were some positives for him, though. He showed off impressive speed at the combine, running the 40-yard dash in 4.39 seconds.
He also has plenty of experience playing winning football as a member of a Michigan program that made three consecutive appearances in the College Football Playoff and just won a national title.
The numbers for Wilson are scary for any team thinking of drafting him, but it seems they haven’t deterred the Steelers from looking at him as an option to fix their wide receiver problem.
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