Mike Tomlin Reveals Why Steelers' Roman Wilson Isn't Playing Much

The Pittsburgh Steelers used a third round selection in the previous draft on a wide receiver, opting to go for Michigan Wolverine Roman Wilson with the 84th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. Yet, to this point, he has zero NFL catches.

Wilson suffered an injury that kept him off the field for much of the 2024 season, yet was a healthy scratch for the last couple games of that season and the Steelers sole playoff game. Now 4 games into the 2025 season, Wilson is yet to record an offensive statistic. During his Tuesday media availability, head coach Mike Tomlin sought to answer why he has not contributed much.

Why Roman Wilson Isn't Playing

“It might just be our selection of personnel group,” Tomlin said. “We’ve been talking a lot about multiple tight ends, Spencer Anderson reporting as eligible, the utilization of multiple tight end groups. His lack of participation might not mean anything relative to his performance or what’s going on at his position. It might just mean how we choose to deploy our personnel groups through the first month of the season. It’s still very early in this process. We got thirteen straight games ahead of us. So, keep watching.”

It seems that the Steelers are currently more interested in experimenting with less traditional offensive sets in order to switch things up with their often monotonous offensive scheme. With players such as offensive lineman spencer anderson getting involved and the offense using multiple tight end sets, offensive coordinator Arthur Smith seems to be opting to use less of his wideouts, therefore defaulting to his more proven options.

Steelers Top WRs

In this setup, DK Metcalf gets involved a lot, as does Calvin Austin III when healthy. Three tight ends have gotten involved, with Pat Freiermuth, Darnell Washington and Jonnu Smith all getting involved. It seems that especially when you factor in offensive linemen who may become eligible receivers for certain plays, it would be hard for Wilson to get any catches.