ESPN Makes Brutal Prediction For Steelers Second-Year WR

PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Steelers are nearly getting into the swing of things with camp over the summer, with rookie minicamp right around the corner and OTAs to follow.

With that comes significant prediction from media for each team about how the season is set to go. For the Steelers, the outlook has been overall pessimistic due to their lack of quarterback and only significant move for them coming in the trading and signing of wideout DK Metcalf.

One such predictor is ESPN's Mike Clay, who predicts the possible outcomes for each NFL team statistically. His outlook on the team overall has the Steelers signing Rodgers before the season starts, with him being the starting quarterback and Mason Rudolph the backup.

That being said, the most pessimistic outlook he has is with second-year wide receiver Roman Wilson, who played seldomly in his rookie due to injury. Clay projects that Wilson will take the field for 14of a possible 17 games for the team, but will have little statistics. Clay predicts that Wilson will account for just 5 targets next season, catching three for a total of 36 yards across the entire season.

While it is true that the addition of Robert Woods and the emergence of Calvin Austin III could lower his possible statistics, the outlook on the former 84th overall pick is bleak. It would be hard to fathom that if Wilson stays healthy that he would produce so little, especially with the fall-off in depth at the wide receiver position for the Steelers.

It is important to factor in the addition of Rodgers at quarterback when looking at these statisics, as a season with either Rudolph or Will Howard at the helm could alter the possible projections, for better or worse.

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