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Steelers' snap counts show that Roman Wilson has a long way to go, and Kaleb Johnson might already be in Mike Tomlin's dog house

Originally posted on A to Z Sports | By Rob Gregson | Last updated Sep 8, 2025 12:15 PM ET

The Pittsburgh Steelers' offense was the least of the team's problems on Sunday. In fact, if not for the new faces on that side of the ball and a serial killer mentality from Chris Boswell, they don't win that game with the way they played.

But when analyzing the snap counts from the game, there were some clear distinctions on the offenisve side of the ball. For one, Roman Wilson played just 18 percent of the team's offensive snaps and Kaleb Johnson played only 4 percent of the snaps.

We might have a good idea why.

Steelers Week 1 snap counts

Per Pro Football Focus, Wilson played only 10 snaps on Sunday, and Johnson had only two. Johnson was the featured kick returner, but he had an early fumble that the team recovered and that may have turned off Mike Tomlin.

I mean, there was a point where it looked like Kenny Gainwell was the team's starter, logging more of the workload in the first half than Jaylen Warren. The run game, or lack there of is a whole other story, but what about the pass catchers?

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We fully expected players like Jonnu Smith, Calvin Austin III and Pat Freiermuth to out snap Wilson. But to see Wilson be tied with Ben Skowronek at a mere 10 snaps, and to see Skowronek be the one to open the scoring is a bit surprising.

Wilson had a great camp. He was the most consistent player in the WR room during the preseason. He got open during games with Skylar Thompson and Mason Rudolph, and he formed a rapport with Aaron Rodgers at the end of camp.

Perhaps it was just Week 1, but remember, the Steelers didn't have confidence that Wilson could grasp the offense as a rookie. Judging by his preseason, it's hard to believe that's still the case, but time will tell.

This article first appeared on A to Z Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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