Where Steelers' Roman Wilson’s Skill Set Lands in McCarthy’s Offense

With a vastly improved receiving unit, one question that comes to mind in relation to Pittsburgh Steelers’ Roman Wilson is how he can be useful in an offense with personnel that possess such a varied skill set.

The only elephant in the room in this case would be rookie Germie Bernard, who brings a similar skill set to that of Wilson — many argue a much more valuable one, as his versatility affords him the ability to be used anywhere on the line of scrimmage — a true “Z” receiver.

Wilson, by all accounts, does not have the versatility to be a “Z” receiver like Bernard, but his skill set complements him. Bernard, in essence, thrives as a coverage‑reader — an option‑route and intermediate possession player. Wilson, on the other hand, is a pace‑and‑burst separator, someone who wins immediately off the snap and accelerates into space. If one were to assume the read progressions routine in a West Coast system, Wilson would serve as the rhythm read: the slant, speed out, deep over, or slot fade that hits in stride.

Both serve the same value as chain movers, but with different applications.

Within the larger WR hierarchy, Wilson benefits from Metcalf’s gravity and Pittman’s chain‑moving role. Metcalf is a vertical threat, Pittman occupies the boundary, and Wilson consistently draws the nickel defender. This makes him ideal for motion‑heavy packages, RPO slants, play‑action crossers, and red‑zone spacing routes.

Last season, Wilson played 33% of the available offensive snaps (253 snaps). Assuming he makes the active roster, 45–55% of the available offensive snaps is not out of the realm of possibility. Considering this is a pivotal year in the NFL career of Wilson, he finally enters an offense where his strengths as a rhythm‑based separator actually matter. McCarthy’s system gives him a defined role instead of the patchwork, situational usage he had in a weaker receiving room. In a cleaner hierarchy, his snap share rises naturally because his skill set aligns with the core structure of the passing game rather than being buried in a rotation built out of necessity.