He was a healthy scratch in five of the last six games of the season, including in the playoffs, and that has Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Roman Wilson wearing a label he doesn\u2019t want as a third-round pick just two years ago: bust.<\/p>\n
Steelers long snapper Christian Kuntz remains in his corner though.<\/p>\n
With a major need at wide receiver ahead of the 2026 season, Wilson seems to be forgotten about in that discussion, and rightfully so, since he couldn\u2019t get a helmet late in the year. But with a new coaching staff<\/a> and an offensive mind at head coach in Mike McCarthy, Kuntz sees a guy in Wilson who is doing what is necessary behind the scenes to develop into a productive player, even if that production hasn\u2019t shown up on the field just yet.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s guys that aren\u2019t producing that are developing on the team that no one\u2019s heard of. One comes to my mind right now, Roman Wilson. People think the production wasn\u2019t there the first two years and he\u2019s like a bust\u2026they\u2019re calling him a bust. They don\u2019t know that he\u2019s working his ass off,\u201d Kuntz said, according to video via the show\u2019s YouTube page.<\/a> \u201cI will \u2014 and I\u2019ve continued to \u2014 back Roman because I see how he works, and I know it\u2019s gonna pay off, and I believe in him.\u201d<\/p>\n After injuries limited him to just five snaps as a rookie, Wilson showed up for his second season in Pittsburgh ready to go right from the jump. He put in a ton of work and was praised for how he looked in OTAs and minicamp. He had a strong training camp and preseason, too, earning praise from quarterback Aaron Rodgers.<\/p>\n But in the regular season Wilson did not produce much. He finished the season<\/a> with just 12 receptions for 166 yards and two touchdowns. He had a costly fumble late against the Indianapolis Colts, which nearly opened the door for a comeback, and he wasn\u2019t on the same page with Rodgers at times.<\/p>\n Once veterans Adam Thielen and Marquez Valdes-Scantling were brought into the mix, Wilson was phased out.<\/p>\n His work behind the scenes didn\u2019t stop though. Former head coach Mike Tomlin praised Wilson<\/a> late in the year for the hard work he was putting in despite not seeing the field. He even expected Wilson to have an opportunity to show growth in the Week 17 game against the Cleveland Browns. Then, Wilson played just nine offensive snaps.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n He went back to being a healthy scratch after that, and he\u2019s seemingly been written off as an answer at receiver entering Year 3.<\/p>\n Kuntz has his back though.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople think that \u2019cause the production wasn\u2019t there, the development wasn\u2019t there. They have no idea that he\u2019s working on his routes. They\u2019re working on his release, he\u2019s working on his strength, he\u2019s working on his hands. He\u2019s working on everything every day developing,\u201d Kuntz said.<\/p>\n That very well may be true. Nobody can question Wilson\u2019s work ethic. He showed that last offseason, and he had the right mentality after becoming a healthy scratch this season.<\/p>\n