The Pittsburgh Steelers very actively exploited free agency in recent years to address the inside linebacker position. Their success rate since drafting Ryan Shazier in 2014 perhaps makes them a bit gun-shy in that regard, one wonders. They do have their new first-round linebacker via free agency in Patrick Queen, though. And to him they added third-round draft pick Payton Wilson.
Winner of the Butkus Award and the Chuck Bednarik Award in 2023, Wilson’s on-field resume speaks for itself. The new Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker won the ACC Defensive Player of the Year Award and earned unanimous All-American honors. He’s 6-4, 233 pounds, and ran a 4.43 40. Put all this together and you scratch your head wondering how he fell to the end of the third round.
Well, we do know why, and that is because much of the league is concerned about his long-term durability. Reportedly, at least 22 teams that share medical information on prospects believe he’ll only last through one contract. The Steelers didn’t share that opinion, but still, they let him sit past their first three selections.
“Sitting there going through it, watching it the other night and teams were passing him by, I was just like, ‘Wow, I can’t believe that they’re doing this’”, his college defensive coordinator, Tony Gibson, told Andrew Fillipponi and Chris Mueller on 93.7 The Fan yesterday. His frustration subsided, however, as his man finally found the right home.
“Obviously, being a Steelers fan and a Pirates fan and all that, I loved it when it got to that pick”, he said. “Before it came on the TV, I started getting hit up by some scouts, ‘Hey, Payton is gonna be a Steeler’, and I was elated. I couldn’t be any happier”.
Wilson exploded in his final college season for the Wolfpack. He totaled 138 tackles with 17.5 for loss, plus six sacks, three interceptions, and a forced fumble. He’s played without significant injury for two years and shows no outward indications of limitation from his previous issues. But there’s a reason teams were scared off him for three rounds. The Steelers are still taking a gamble, one they felt comfortable doing at 98 overall with their fourth selection. If he works out, they may well have a steal.
“What I tell everybody is…if somebody was gonna hire me in the NFL to be a linebacker coach, a defensive coordinator, whatever it may be, and they said, ‘You have your choice, who are you picking out of anybody on the board?’ Payton Wilson would be my number one pick”, Gibson said.
Of course, this isn’t the 1940s when Chuck Bednarik actually went first in the draft. And Bednarik also played center. If you’re not taking a quarterback first, you’re generally taking someone who’s going to sack him.
And you can’t expect Gibson to be impartial about this. He coached Payton Wilson, and he roots for the Pittsburgh Steelers—you’re getting some bias here. But at the end of the day, Wilson’s college tape speaks for itself. Unfortunately for his draft stock, so did his medical checkup.
