Rookie minicamp with Steelers 'feels like home' for 3rd-round pick Roman Wilson

After the first day of rookie minicamp was moved indoors because of rain, the Pittsburgh Steelers took the newcomers outside Saturday morning at UPMC Rooney Sports Complex.

When a morning workout concluded, wide receiver and third-round draft pick Roman Wilson said he felt at ease practicing on the outdoor practice fields.

“I love it out here,” Wilson said. “This feels normal to me. It feels like home.”

Asked what made him feel that way, Wilson mentioned coach Mike Tomlin, offensive coordinator Arthur Smith and wide receiver coach Zach Azzani. Smith and Azzani, like Wilson, are entering their first season with the Steelers.

“It just makes me feel like family, makes me feel comfortable,” said Wilson, who an hour later signed his four-year rookie contract. “They coach me really hard, and I just feel like I’m getting better already.”

The Steelers, of course, would like Wilson, the No. 84 overall pick and 14th wide receiver selected, to accelerate his development at breakneck speed. With third-year receiver George Pickens the only returning starter from last season, the Steelers are seeking viable options at the second and third spots. That means the Steelers have openings at one outside receiver spot and the slot.

During his four seasons at Michigan, Wilson showed he could play either position. For his career, Wilson took 57% of his snaps in the slot. In his final two seasons, though, he spent 70% of the offensive plays lined up inside.

This weekend, the Steelers are less concerned about where Wilson lines up. There will be plenty of time to define a role at organized team activities, mandatory minicamp and training camp. The emphasis at rookie minicamp was for Wilson to work on his technique. Wilson said he emphasized staying low in his break, pumping his arms and getting hips properly aligned.

“He’s just a super athlete,” said undrafted free agent John Rhys Plumlee, one of two quarterbacks participating in the rookie minicamp. “You got to see that on Day 1. He’s moving around great. He’s also smart and seems to be picking up the playbook really well.”

Wilson got a chance to flash his 4.39 speed that was timed as the sixth-fastest among receivers at the NFL Combine. He had hoped to run faster at the event.

“I set goals pretty high for myself,” he said. “If I feel like I can do a 4.2, great. If I thought I could run a 4.3 and then ran a 4.4, then that’s not good for me. I always set my expectations high.”

Wilson said he began working with a speed coach in sixth grade on the island of Maui in his native Hawaii. He won the state gold medal in the 100-meter dash as a junior — his senior track season was wiped out by the pandemic — and he was part of a 400 relay team that set a state record.

“Being fast comes naturally to me,” Wilson said, “but being who I am now, that is definitely hard work.”

The biggest sacrifice came in ninth grade when his family decided to enroll him at St. Louis High School, which also has produced Steelers players Nate and Nick Herbig. The trouble was, St. Louis was located on the island of Oahu.

Wilson would awaken in the wee hours of the morning and catch a 6 a.m. flight, then take public transportation to school once he landed in Oahu. That became his daily routine until he moved to Oahu — without his parents — later in high school.

“At the time, we felt like that was my only opportunity to make it to college and make it to the NFL,” Wilson said. “If you felt like that was your only opportunity, you would do that, too. In the moment, I didn’t really feel that it was crazy. I was just chasing my dreams.”

For that freshman year, the commute was a lonely one.

“It was really hard, but it made me mature and grow at a young age and made me who I am now,” he said.

The perseverance paid off with a scholarship from Michigan, and Wilson capped his collegiate career by helping the Wolverines go undefeated to win the national championship. As a senior, he led Michigan with 48 catches and 789 receiving yards. His 12 receiving touchdowns tied for ninth in the nation.

It led to the Steelers, who traded top receiver Diontae Johnson to Carolina in March, to select Wilson as a potential replacement.

Wilson becomes the latest pass catcher the Steelers have taken on the second day of the draft. Some have flourished, such as Pickens, Johnson and JuJu Smith-Schuster. Others have underachieved, namely Chase Claypool, James Washington and Sammie Coates.

In the upcoming months, Wilson will take steps toward showing he belongs on the former list rather than the latter.

“A lot of great guys have been drafted here and played receiver,” he said. “It means a lot for me to be mentioned in that group of guys already.”