The Pittsburgh Steelers are reportedly in the trade market for a wide receiver to give 41-year-old quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who is playing some good football, another weapon.
Turns out, they might not need another weapon at all. They just need to utilize one of the guys on their roster just a bit more.
That would be second-year wide receiver Roman Wilson. In the last couple of weeks the 2024 third-round pick has started to come on strong, seeing more snaps and more opportunities in the passing game. The Michigan product was good against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 7 and then took his game to another level on Sunday night against the Green Bay Packers.
Wilson had a career night, hauling in four passes for 74 yards and his first NFL touchdown. He played 29 snaps, too, which was nearly 50% of the offensive snaps on the night.
He’s stated he’s unfazed by the trade talks at the receiver position, and teammates like Calvin Austin III have talked him up in recent weeks. Now, his play is starting to show the wait was worth it.
Though his career night came in an embarrassing Steelers loss, it’s a bright spot to be happy about moving forward.
Let’s dive into the film room.
Things started with a bang for Wilson in primetime. On the Steelers’ third snap of the game, Wilson shook loose down the field and made a terrific catch on a bomb from Rodgers along the sideline for 45 yards.
This is a good, quick release, Wilson getting off the ball cleanly and stacking his defender. Once he’s even, he’s leavin’ as the kids say. Wilson gets deep and throws his hand up.
Rodgers gets out of the pocket and extends the play. He then uncorks a great throw on the move, dropping it along the sideline for Wilson to have a chance to make a play. To the young receiver’s credit, he does. Great job of flipping around and tracking the football in the air, all while knowing where he is on the field.
He gets two feet inbounds to cap the double-explosive play.
Later in the game, ironically on a penalty that wasn’t called and changed momentum, Wilson was targeted by Rodgers on a 3rd and 8.
Rodgers clearly draws the Packers offsides, but no flag is thrown, bailing Green Bay out. Rodgers thinks he has a free play and fires it to Wilson. It’s a good throw, but Wilson has to do a better job at the catch point by playing more physical.
I’d like to see him fight back to the ball just a bit here to keep the defender from the making the play. Instead, he lets the ball come to him. It gives the defensive back an opening to drive and attack from behind, helping knock the ball out of Wilson’s hands for the incomplete pass.
Things really changed after that.
With the game largely over, Wilson got some additional work and started to develop chemistry with Rodgers.
Here on a 2nd and 2, Wilson does a good job of playing fast but under control, not rushing through things with the ball in his hands.
Typically in situations like this, young players will rush with the ball in their hands and just look to get forward without utilizing their vision.
That wasn’t the case with Wilson, and it worked out as he was able to turn the quick throw into a gain of 3 and move the chains on what looked like a play that could be blown up in front of him.
It was encouraging because Wilson was in control and didn’t seem like things were too quick for him.
Then, he capped his career night with a great catch through contact for a 21-yard score.
Solid route here from Wilson. Watch at the top of his stem the subtle hard step outside and the head fake, opening up the cornerback’s hips and allowing him to win inside. Good explosion out of his cut, too, in the end zone to create separation from the defender and work into Rodgers’ line of sight.
He attacks the football and shows off his strong hands, pulling it down through contact. That the officials needed an expedited review to properly rule this a catch was a microcosm of the night the crew had under Shawn Hochuli.
Though things went poorly for the Steelers overall, Wilson’s performance was a lone bright spot and offers hope moving forward that he can be a legitimate playmaker with Rodgers under center.
If he can, that could take minimize or eliminate the need of adding a wide receiver at the trade deadline and allow GM Omar Khan to shift his attention to the defensive side of the football to address cornerback or safety.
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