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With the uncertainty surrounding the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 2025 offseason, most of their roster has much to prove at OTAs. However, coming off a nonexistent rookie campaign, wide receiver Roman Wilson has more ground to cover than most.
A 2024 third-round pick, Wilson entered the Steelers organization with high expectations. His hype train took a hit when an ankle injury in training camp held him out for the entire preseason only for an ensuing hamstring issue to keep him on injured reserve for the whole year.
Wilson enters the 2025 offseason technically preparing for his second professional season but has yet to record a single stat.
Given how much the Steelers' receivers struggled in 2024, Wilson's pseudo-redshirt year hurt the team even more than it initially seemed. Wilson's momentum is not entirely diminished, but his absence caused fans to almost forget about him entirely.
Pittsburgh still has big plans for the sure-handed slot receiver, but he enters the 2025 offseason with less leeway than he had a year ago.
Steelers' Roman Wilson stood out at Michigan
Once Wilson returns to the field, he will get his first taste of live action since helping Michigan win the 2024 National Championship. His contributions to the Wolverines' historic run in the College Football Playoffs raised his draft stock, convincing the Steelers to take a shot on him as an early Day 2 pick.
On paper, Wilson's numbers at Michigan do not look like those of a premier NFL prospect. He recorded 789 receiving yards in his final season in college, failing to come close to a 1,000-yard season. But expectations have to be managed in an offense as run-dominant as the Wolverines' was. Wilson's talent came through on the game tape rather than on-field production.
Wilson was a solid and reliable pass-catcher in his first three years at Michigan but not one who graced any NFL radars. However, his efficiency shot through the roof in his final season, making him somewhat of a hidden gem in Jim Harbaugh's smash-mouth offense.
Wilson dropped just one pass in 2023, an elite 2 percent drop rate. He scored 12 touchdowns on his 48 receptions, scoring on an absurd 25 percent of his catches. Wilson received an 81.5 player grade from Pro Football Focus, making him one of the site's highest-rated collegiate wideouts on the year.
Wilson's speed, crisp route-running and run-after-catch ability made him an ideal slot receiver to pair with George Pickens. At least, that was how the Steelers envisioned it.
Instead, Pittsburgh traded Pickens in the 2025 offseason shortly after acquiring DK Metcalf from the Seattle Seahawks. While the team still hopes Wilson can take over the slot, his window to prove that potential appears to be slowly closing.
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Roman Wilson has most to prove in Steelers' 2025 OTAs
With health always a concern for Wilson, missing his entire season is encouraging. The situation gets even worse and slightly more confusing when Mike Tomlin said he was “healthy” for most of his rookie year but not at the “football readiness” level for the team to have him take the field.
“He was healthy, but healthy and football readiness were two different things, to be quite honest with you,” Tomlin said at the 2025 NFL annual league meeting. “When you're coming back from injury, you're essentially getting on a moving train.
“We talk about a guy that had very little NFL experience. He was healthy at the end of the year. He was working extremely hard in practice, but a real avenue never presented itself due to the misfortune of others or what have you for him to contribute.”
The Steelers' 2025 quarterback situation remains a mystery, but regardless of who is under center, Wilson is a guy the team views as a focal point of the offense. However, he will have to wrestle the starting slot position away from Calvin Austin III, who started seven of the final 10 games in 2024.
While inconsistent, Austin emerged as a playmaker late in the year, ending as Pittsburgh's third-leading receiver behind Pickens and tight end Pat Freiermuth.
While Tomlin remains high on Wilson, the budding second-year receiver will have to show out in the Steelers' 2025 OTAs to get his career back where he wants it. Many players have built successful careers after missing most of their rookie season, but it all begins in the offseason.
Aside from Metcalf, Pittsburgh's offense is currently void of proven playmakers, and Wilson needs to immediately prove he is that guy.
