Before the Steelers could land Roman Wilson, the Jets almost selected him.

Roman Wilson drew comparisons of many kinds when he was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers.

 

He made a comparison between himself and Tyler Lockett, one of Russell Wilson’s main targets. However, Tony Pauline heard the Steelers compare Wilson to someone who is far more ambitious.

Pauline claims that Wilson is seen by the Steelers organization as a gritty guy who wins in the middle of the field—a player who may be seen through a “Hines Ward lens.”

However, a different analogy might make even more sense. Wilson is more like to Jayden Reed, who has excelled early in his career with the Green Bay Packers, according to Daniel Jeremiah.

“Then you go out and get Roman Wilson, who I felt was a player similar to Jayden Reed,” he remarked. Jeremiah said of Wilson on The Rich Eisen Show, “We saw how quickly Jayden Reed transitioned with the Green Bay Packers and how they got him up and running, and the success he had.”

However, he also hardly ever made it to the Steelers. Jets general manager Joe Douglas was attempting to trade up for a wide receiver, either Wilson or Malachi Corley, according to recently surfaced video. Ultimately, they advanced to capture Corley, which made Wilson fall directly to Pittsburgh.

Prior to a bright Wednesday practice at the Senior Bowl in January, Wilson received a challenge from Tomlin. Two of the most dominant players from the first day of the Senior Bowl, Wilson and Toledo CB Quinyon Mitchell, were brought aside by Tomlin, who instructed them to go against each other during practice. They successfully produced a play that would make Wilson’s highlights reel.

Wilson, who stands 5 feet 10 3/4 inches and weighs 185 pounds, is a little undersized, but in pre-draft testing, he shown great athleticism. At the 2024 NFL Combine, he recorded times of 4.39 seconds for the 40-yard dash, 4.07 seconds for the shuttle, and 6.89 seconds for the three-cone drill. His RAS was 8.59 out of 10.

At Michigan, Roman Wilson played both inside and outside. As a junior, he spent 91% of his time in the slot.