Pittsburgh Steelers fans have high hopes for second-year wide receiver Roman Wilson, but after watching how practices have unfolded early, perhaps it's best to put those hopes on hold. The good news is that Roman Wilson has been running with the starters when the Steelers are in three-receiver sets (11 personnel). The bad news is that Aaron Rodgers has hardly looked his direction.
In Pittsburgh's first four unpadded practices, Wilson has been uncomfortably quiet. Several media members in attendance have been quick to point this out.
Nick Farabaugh of PennLive outlined Wilson's role as the team's 'Z' receiver, but admitted that it's been a quiet start. Meanwhile, Alex Kozora of Steelers Depot has been charting the goal-line throws at Steelers training camp, and Wilson has just one target in this department.
After missing almost his entire rookie season due to injuries, we hoped Wilson would hit the ground running. This hasn't been the case. But what's interesting is that every pass catcher on the team is starting from a clean slate. None of them has played with Aaron Rodgers before, and you would assume that they have an equal opportunity to develop chemistry with their new quarterback.
Sadly, Wilson is falling behind. DK Metcalf has been soaking up targets from Rodgers, while Calvin Austin III and Pat Freiermuth have been involved as secondary options in the passing game.
Rodgers and Wilson are left without a strong connection, and if this doesn't get stronger, Wilson could be at risk for a demotion on the depth chart. But there's plenty of time for that to change.
There's still time for the Aaron Rodgers, Roman Wilson connection to heat up at Pittsburgh Steelers training camp
We don't want to get all bent out of shape over the Pittsburgh Steelers' target distribution in the first four unpadded practices of training camp. While it may feel concerning that Rodgers has hardly looked to Wilson, there's more than enough time for that to change.
The good news is that Wilson has had no issue showing his speed and burst off the line of scrimmage in practice so far. This shouldn't change as the pads come on. Wilson also has incredible hands. As the lead receiver on a championship Michigan team in 2023, Wilson dropped just one pass on 67 targets for an impressive 2.3 percent drop rate.
If Wilson can continue to show that he's a sure-handed wide receiver who can get open, Rodgers will take notice, and the connection will inevitably grow.
Wilson, a third-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, was the 46th overall player on Marcus Mosher's 2024 NFL Draft Expert Consensus Board. There's more than enough talent to work with here, and the young skill player could develop into the No. 2 wide receiver on the team.
Right now, however, there hardly seems to be a connection between Aaron Rodgers and Wilson at Steelers training camp, but there's still plenty of time for that to change.
