Pittsburgh Steelers fans spent much of the 2025 season wondering why young wide receiver Roman Wilson wasn’t on the field more often. Despite being picked by them in the third-round of the 2024 draft, which means he is owed $5.7 million over four years, Wilson has struggled to find his footing, appearing in only 13 out of a possible 34 games over his first two years.
The 2025 season particularly did not go well for Wilson as he was sidelined in four of the last five games. This trend of inactivity culminated in the Steelers’ suffering a 30–6 Wild Card defeat against the Houston Texans.
For a frustrated Pittsburgh fanbase, his continued absence from the lineup, sometimes because of injuries and other factors, became a focal point of disappointment. His stats over the last two seasons show only 12 catches for 166 yards and two touchdowns. Wilson, too, seems to be well aware that public opinion shifts based entirely on his performance.
“When things are going well, people say a lot of good stuff. When things are going bad, people say a lot of bad stuff, ” he said.
But last season, it didn’t seem like the Steelers’ WR had much choice. One of the major reasons why fans couldn’t see Wilson much on the field was because that was exactly what the team wanted. The team’s decision to lean on veteran players instead of the youngsters was to keep quarterback Aaron Rodgers comfortable with experienced targets, who know the system inside and out.
The depth chart shift became very clear once the Steelers brought in seasoned veterans Adam Thielen and Marquez Valdes-Scantling. The coaching staff showed much higher confidence in these established players, leaving Wilson as a healthy inactive for several weeks.
“We’ve had this conversation many times about running the football,” Tomlin said. “I felt really good about our run plan. I thought we had an opportunity to really control the game through those means, and we didn’t have a bad running day. But we certainly didn’t have as good a running day as we could have had; we had converted more possession downs. I think the same could be said about levels of participation for guys like Roman and thus their ability to impact the game.”
This lack of involvement was disappointing for those who saw Wilson’s potential during an impressive preseason and a productive mid-season stretch. Between Weeks 6 and 11, he showed signs of life by recording 159 yards and two scores, but he quickly fell back down the depth chart once the roster was at full strength.
Wow: Aaron Rodgers CALLS OUT Steelers standout WR Roman Wilson:
“I need to get Roman out of his own head a bit. He cares so much about whether it’s my approval or he’s doing it right. He’s just got to trust himself.”
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) August 7, 2025
He only saw significant action against the Browns because other key receivers were out with injuries.
As he looks toward the 2026 season, the pressure is mounting for him to prove he belongs in the long-term plans of the franchise.
Roman Wilson has another chance to prove himself this 2026 season
The Pittsburgh Steelers are giving wide receiver Roman Wilson another shot to prove himself in 2026. Even though he was a third-round draft pick back in 2024, he hasn’t done much on the field yet. Now that the team has a new head coach, Mike McCarthy, Wilson might finally get the opportunity to show the fans that he can be a great player.
When Wilson first joined the NFL, people expected him to be a versatile player who could run great routes and help with blocking. However, the Steelers haven’t seen that version of him yet. It seems the old coaching staff didn’t use him very often. As per reports, he played less than 25% of the team’s offensive plays and almost never played on special teams.
It is now clear that the Steelers haven’t given up on him, and they are excited to see what he can do during the 2026 season.
With a new coaching staff and a brand-new playbook, everyone on the team has a fresh start. There is a lot of hope that Wilson can finally stand out and make a big impact that he was drafted to make for the franchise.
