2024 NFL Draft Scouting Report: NC State LB Payton Wilson

From now until the 2024 NFL Draft, we will scout and create profiles for as many prospects as possible, examining their strengths, weaknesses, and what they can bring to an NFL franchise. These players could be potential top-10 picks, all the way down to Day Three selections and priority undrafted free agents. Today, I’ll be profiling NC State LB Payton Wilson.

#11 PAYTON WILSON, LB, NC STATE (R-SENIOR) – 6-4, 233 POUNDS

SENIOR BOWL INVITE

MEASUREMENTS

THE GOOD

— Has great size and length
— Lean, athletic frame is built for the position
— Can run sideline to sideline in pursuit of the ball carrier
— Shows fantastic effort playing chase of the football
— Motor goes nonstop from snap to whistle
— Runs through contact as a hitter
— Length aids in his ability to disengage from blocks
— Reliable tackler
— Spent time playing in the box as well as on the edge plus overhang in coverage
— Shows explosiveness and bend as a pass rusher around the corner
— Capable of rushing on the edge as well as being sent up the middle on the blitz
— Does a good job of dropping into zone coverage
— Will read the quarterback’s eyes and step in front of passes for breakups/interceptions
— Has the athletic profile to match up with tight ends and backs in coverage

THE BAD

— On the older side (will be a 24-year-old rookie)
— Tore his ACL his senior year of high school
— Suffered a second season-ending knee injury his true freshman season
— Suffered a season-ending shoulder injury in the second game of his junior season
— Can do a better job stacking and shedding blocks near the line of scrimmage
— Will move to full three-down role at inside linebacker at the next level
— Doesn’t have much refinement as a pass rusher when it comes to hand usage
— Can lose his footing in his lateral transitions on the field

BIO

— Redshirt senior prospect from Hillsborough, N.C.
— Born April 21, 2000 (age 23)
— Younger brother of Major League Baseball pitcher Bryse Wilson
— All-State football player in high school and tallied 266 tackles, 70 tackles for loss, 24 sacks, and two interceptions in his career
— Consensus four-star prospect, selected to the U.S. Army All-American Game
— Won a state championship in wrestling and also played lacrosse
— Committed to play at NC State in the spring while recovering from a torn ACL his senior year in high school
— Suffered a second knee injury in the summer as a true freshman, missing the season
— Played as a reserve with only one start in 2019 but made 69 total tackles (33 solo), three pass deflections, and one interception
— Became a full-time starter in 2020 and posted 108 total tackles (57 solo), 3.5 sacks, one pass deflection, and two interceptions
— Suffered a season-ending shoulder injury in 2021; missed spring workouts after undergoing surgery on both shoulders
— Returned to the starting lineup in 2022 and posted 83 total tackles (39 solo), 4.5 tackles for loss, three pass deflections, and one interception
— Consensus best linebacker in college football in 2023 after posting 139 total stops (69 solo), six sacks, a forced fumble, two fumble recoveries, six pass deflections, and three interceptions (one returned for a touchdown)
— Chuck Bednarik Award (2023), Butkus Award (2023), unanimous All-American (2023), ACC Defensive Player of the Year (2023), two-time first-Team All-ACC selection (2020, 2023)

TAPE BREAKDOWN

When you pop the tape on Wilson, you see a linebacker playing with all gas and no brakes. The dude flies around the field like a heat-seeking missile to the football, having the speed and burst combined with the effort to chase down ball carriers with relative ease. Watch this play where Wilson goes from taking on the block while playing on the edge to chasing down the quarterback scrambling to the opposite sideline. Opening up his speed in the open field, Wilson he runs down the passer to keep him from getting to the first-down marker.

Wilson’s effort in pursuit is truly impressive to watch on tape. Take this rep where Wilson flies into the backfield but then manages to change directions after the quarterback throws the screen pass. Wilson gets on his horse and hunts down the receiver along the sideline, running through the mess of blockers to bring down the ball carrier and prevent him from taking it to the house.

Wilson relishes being the hammer on a nail when he hits a ball carrier. He is a sure tackler who consistently brings the opposition down to the ground. Check out this hit Wilson dishes out on a Louisville running back, taking a step out to the flat, then committing downhill to wrap him up as he approaches the line of scrimmage.

Wilson has the size and length to play on the edge as well as in the box as he often did at NC State, coming down to the line of scrimmage on various occasions to set the edge against the run. Here are a couple of clips of Wilson setting the edge as a run defender, using his size and length to play through blocks on the edge and get in on the tackle.

Wilson is also a capable pass rusher from the edge as well as on the blitz from the second level, logging six sacks this past season after racking up 24 sacks in high school. You see that tenacity and acceleration to the football in the first clip of Wilson coming up the middle on a blitz. Quickly getting into the backfield, he forces the quarterback to throw the football away as he brings him to the ground. In the second clip, you see Wilson come off the edge against the right tackle, using the dip/rip to bend the corner into the pocket and get home for the sack.

When it comes to pass coverage, Wilson is comfortable playing in space and making his zone drops in the middle of the field as well as toward the flats. He can have receivers get on top of him on occasion, but he has the athleticism and frame to match up well with tight ends. Here are a couple of plays Wilson makes in pass coverage, with the first clip showing him completing his drop. Seeing the receiver come to his area, he breaks on the ball and plays through the defender’s shoulder to break up the pass. The second clip shows Wilson dropping in coverage near the middle of the field and reading the quarterback’s throw, stepping in front of the pass to secure the interception.

When coming off the edge as a pass rusher, Wilson also can make an impact by getting his hands up in passing lanes if he isn’t able to get home on the rush. We see that in this clip below as Wilson starts his rush but sees the quarterback set up to throw before he can get into the backfield. He leaps up into the air and bats the ball down to the turf, forcing the incompletion.

CONCLUSION

There’s a lot to like about Payton Wilson’s game and what he brings to a defense. The guy has excellent size, athleticism, and instinctiveness, and those qualities pop off the screen when you watch him operate as a run defender, pass rusher, and pass-coverage defender. The big cloud hanging over Wilson and his prospects of getting drafted early is his medical, which has numerous red flags on it dating back to high school. Multiple knee and shoulder surgeries aren’t what you want to see in a prospect who plays a physical position like inside linebacker, putting into question how durable Wilson will be when he gets to the league.

When coming up with a pro comparison for Wilson, it was difficult to think of a player who showed similar traits as a hybrid inside linebacker/edge rusher at the next level. Micah Parsons operated that way coming out of Penn State, but he’s on another level than Wilson, who may hope to be a poor man’s version of that. Rather, Parsons’ teammate LB Leighton Vander Esch made a lot of sense as a similar player with ideal size, athleticism, and a skill set to chase after the football as well as make an impact against the pass. Vander Esch has also struggled with injuries throughout his career, something that may affect Wilson and his draft stock.

The Steelers need to continue to add to their linebacker corps, regardless of if they get Cole Holcomb back from injury next season. Wilson would be a great option to pair with Holcomb and Elandon Roberts as a do-it-all defender, but again, his medical will dictate if teams see him more as a Day Two selection or if he’s a risk who warrants more of a late Day Three draft choice. The Combine will go a long way in determining Wilson’s draft stock and his chances of potentially landing in Pittsburgh.

Projection: Mid Day Two/Early Day Three
Depot Draft Grade: 8.2 MED – Future Quality Starter (Second Round)
Games Watched: vs Louisville (2023), vs Miami (2023), at UCONN (2023)