The Pittsburgh Steelers and Head Coach Mike Tomlin love existing relationships when it comes to their players. Examples of this have been seen throughout the years, primarily with the Steelers often having at least one set of brothers on the team. For the 2024 season, Pittsburgh has two pairs of siblings in Cameron Heyward and Connor Heyward, and Nate Herbig and Nick Herbig. In 2023, Nate was adamant that Pittsburgh select his brother in the draft, Nick felt the same way about Roman Wilson a year later.
"He [Nick Herbig] was talking to me before the draft back to when I met with the Steelers at the Senior Bowl." Wilson shared. "They [Steelers] just kept talking about how Nick kept talking about me."
The Steelers had a clear need for a receiver going into the draft, specifically one with great route-running that could attempt to fill the void that was left when Diontae Johnson was traded to the Carolina Panthers. Wilson fits that criteria, and Nick gets his wish of reuniting with his high school teammate. Nick and Wilson helped lead their high school on a 38-game winning streak while winning four consecutive State Championships.
Both Nick and Wilson are from Hawaii where they attended the Saint Louis School. They are the same age, and played all four years of their high school careers together. They would each go on to play in the Big 10, as Nick went to Wisconsin and Wilson played college football at Michigan. Nick decided to forego his senior year and put his name in the NFL Draft a year early in 2023, when he was selected in the fourth round by Pittsburgh. Wilson played a full four seasons at Michigan, winning the National Championship in 2023, before becoming a third-round pick in 2024.
Wilson is expected to be able to contribute to the Steelers offense right away. Aside from George Pickens, the Steelers wide receiver room is a weird mix of wide receiver threes and guys on the fringe of making the final roster. Wilson, Pickens, and Van Jefferson will most likely be the main receivers seeing targets and contributing in the passing game.
Route-running typically translates well to the NFL from the college game, opposed to some receivers that rely solely on their physical attributes and athleticism. There will always be an adjustment period when a player enters the league, but Wilson should be on the right path to seeing success at the highest level of the sport.
Steelers Players Vouching For Prospects Worked In 2023
Nate begging the organization to draft his little brother in the 2023 NFL Draft has worked out well so far, and it just so happens that while Nick was at Wisconsin he was already under the tutelage of Watt, who is also a Badger. Nick showed a lot of promise in his rookie year, primarily playing in relief of Highsmith and Watt. He came up with a strip sack and recovery in the Steelers Week 17 must-win game versus the Seattle Seahawks, which was huge in securing the Steelers victory.
Nick recorded three sacks in his rookie season while averaging just 11 defensive snaps per game. He also contributed 27 total tackles, 5 tackles for loss, and two forced fumbles. Wilson is expected to play more than Herbig did in his rookie year, and if he can contribute in a similar, efficient way, this Steelers third round pick would be considered a steal.
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