In this series, we will take a look at three Pittsburgh Steelers offensive players who need to shine during training camp this year. Some players are in a make it or break it situation, while others are looking to continue to improve and have a breakout season.

Training camp in Latrobe Pennsylvania is a beautiful sight. The coaching whistles are being blown, the five man sleds being pushed, the Terrible Towels are being waved in the air — football is finally here, folks!

When NFL players get drafted or are even undrafted, they must fight to earn a spot on the 53-man team roster. Currently, the roster holds 90 athletes and that slowly gets cut down as we head closer to the regular season.

There is no specific order of importance of these athletes. These are just three who I believe need to shine in training camp and make an impression on the coaching staff.

Russell Wilson

Even though I mentioned there is no order of importance, this one seems to be the most important one. The addition of Russell Wilson this offseason provides a veteran signal-caller who has been to the Super Bowl twice, winning one during the 2013-2014 NFL season. Wilson has struggled in recent years, and is looking to improve in 2024.

Having a franchise quarterback is a beautiful thing. I know that I miss watching Ben Roethlisberger play each and every single Sunday, but those days are long gone. We as a fan base must support our new quarterback in Wilson, but he also needs to produce on the football field. Training camp will give him a good opportunity to showcase his talents and if he still has what it takes to play at a high level.

The Steelers are going to get an athlete who has been there and done that, a solid improvement from a season ago. The 35-year-old hopes to resurrect his career in Pittsburgh and training camp in Latrobe is the first step in doing so.

Calvin Austin III

The next two athletes are going to be wide receivers who must shine during camp. As a former wide receiver coach, I guess I just have to list these type of athletes.

I understand that there are other players on this roster that are in make it or break it situations, but the wide receiver room and situation is still one to look at as camp starts to unfold.

Calvin Austin III enters his third season in Pittsburgh and the 5-foot-8-inch 170 pound athlete has one talent that always intrigues coaches – extremely fast speed.

Austin III is one of the fastest receivers currently on the Steelers’ roster and while that is always a positive in the NFL, there are other aspects of his game that he must improve upon. One area will be to enhance his route-running and learning the entire route tree from the inside and the outside. This will make him more of an asset on offense for coordinator Arthur Smith.

During camp, I am looking for three areas of Austin III’s game that could help him reach a higher productive level this season.

The first one is improved route-running and not just being a one-trick pony running a vertical go route each time. The second improvement is how reliable is his catching. The third and final area is does the coaching staff line him up on the outside opposite of George Pickens just to see if he can become a Diontae Johnson and get open with solid route-running? I am not entirely sure what is up the sleeve of Smith and his offense, we already know as a fanbase that Austin III is very undersized for an outside receiver, but just know that Johnson is only two inches taller than Austin.

Roman Wilson

The last offensive player on my watch list and one who will need to shine during training camp is Roman Wilson. I just recently wrote an article titled: ‘The one thing I want the Pittsburgh Steelers wide receivers to do in 2024′ in which I discussed an emphasis on more physical blocking by the wideouts. Wilson comes from the University of Michigan, a team last season that finished 15-0 and won a National Championship. It is also a team that focused solely on establishing the running game and blocking was a large part in that.

Training camp will offer a glimpse of the receivers’ blocking abilities, but the preseason and regular season will provide a more true test.

Wilson’s arrival in Pittsburgh after being selected in the third-round of this year’s NFL Draft, gives the team a very physical athlete who is not afraid of contact. I am very interested to see how he is implemented in Smith’s offense and if he will be primarily a slot receiver or if he is also tested on the outside.

The 23-year-old athlete is 5-foot-11-inches and 185-pounds, which is an inch taller than Diontae Johnson during his time with the Steelers. Wilson finished his 2023 college campaign with 48 receptions for 789 yards, a 16.4 average and 12 touchdowns. He has an ability to find the end zone, an area that the Steelers will look to improve upon this season.

Wilson is an athlete who I am very high on and I hope to see glimpses of his utilization and if he is as advertised.

While I understand that there are other athletes on the Steelers current roster vying for a spot on the 53-man roster, these are three offensive players who need to shine in training camp.

Russell Wilson is on a prove it deal and must answer if he still has what it takes to be a reliable and productive NFL quarterback, Calvin Austin III was selected very high in the NFL Draft and must live up to the expectations, and Roman Wilson is entering year one and can instantly help the team and their offense if he works hard and shines.

Let us know in the comment section below if your list is any different and who you have as three offensive players to watch in camp this season.