MOBILE, Alabama — One of the most interesting prospects in the 2024 NFL Draft is NC State ILB Payton Wilson. He has the pedigree, tape, and accolades to be a first-round draft pick, but there are concerns over his medicals with multiple major knee and shoulder injuries in his past.
“Yeah, obviously that’s the biggest what if,” Wilson said in a post-practice interview at the Senior Bowl. “Everybody asks me about it, but the last two years I’ve stayed healthy, and I think I found a really good balance of how to do that. I play so hard and fearless. I had to find a good balance between nutrition and maintenance programs and then also just knowing what weight I can play at to stay healthy and still play the way that I wanted to play.”
Payton Wilson does plays with a definite edge about him and flies around. That much has been very clear at the Senior Bowl practices. It is also clear by just taking a glance at his college stats and the awards he received. Across five seasons, one severely cut short by an injury, he amassed 402 total tackles (202 solo), 48 tackles for loss, 15 sacks, 13 passes defensed, seven interceptions, one forced fumble, and one defensive touchdown.
He was awarded the 2023 Chuck Bednarik Award, given to the defensive player of the year in college football, as well as the 2023 Dick Butkus Award, which is given to the best linebacker. He was a consensus All-American.
He looks the part with a solid 6-4, 234-pound frame, and he said his goal is to run anything better than a 4.45 40-yard dash time at the NFL Scouting Combine next month. That is the type of speed that would allow him to be an every-down player in the NFL. With linebackers, you are looking for sideline-to-sideline speed, and he has certainly shown that in Mobile.
“I’ve went and got some medicals from some Combine doctors,” Wilson said. “Things are looking really good. I just can’t wait to get to the Combine so I can get past all this medical stuff.”
He has an impressive background outside of football, too. He grew up on a farm and was a wrestler for most of his life.
“That’s a different type of conditioning,” he said. “I can go every single day, all day. I can go 150 snaps if I need to…wrestling makes tackling so much easier. When I get my hands on you, you’re gonna come down. I understand leverage and I understand torque.”
He also has bloodlines in professional sports. His brother, Bryse Wilson, is a Major League Baseball pitcher for the Milwaukee Brewers.
“You know how baseball money is,” Payton Wilson said. “He lives 10 minutes from my parents, just keeping Christ first and not falling into the temptations of money. It’s just awesome to have that role model in my life.”
He has the ideal hearts and smarts that NFL teams look for. If he manages to clear the medicals at the NFL Combine, expect him to be a top draft pick and instantly be an impact player for whichever team is lucky enough to have him.
“I wanna make every play,” Wilson said of his mindset. “If we play 90 snaps, I wanna make 90 tackles and I’m not coming off the field.”
View his scouting report below:
