Contract signed, Payton Wilson can officially call himself a professional football player. He’s the elite of the elite, one of the rare few who make it to the NFL with talent far above his third-round draft selection. But the hype isn’t going to his head. Grounded even after being drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers, Wilson outlined his core values that keep him humble.
“I’m a pretty simple guy. Faith, family, football is everything to me,” he said in a recent interview with Steelers.com’s Missi Matthews via the team’s YouTube channel. “You’re going to get everything that I can possibly give for as long as I’m here and for as long as I play the game.”
Wilson became the 98th overall selection of last month’s draft. Regarded as a top-50 talent, he fell due to a combination of age (24 years old) and history of knee and shoulder surgeries. He’s downplayed those concerns and proved healthy the past two seasons, becoming one of college football’s most dynamic linebackers.
His mentality has been the same throughout the pre-draft process. Difficult, tiring, and uncertain, prospects finish their final college football season, begin training for the draft, attend All-Star games (Wilson went to the Senior Bowl), go to the NFL Scouting Combine, work out at their Pro Day, take pre-draft visits, and then anxiously hope to hear their name called during the draft week. His mentality has been the same throughout his college career. Like Mason McCormick, Wilson turned down the chance to transfer to a more prominent program, believing he owed it to NC State to finish what he started.
“I’m so glad I’m out of college with the way things are going,” he told NBC’s Connor Rogers during the Combine. “I’m a little more old-school. I committed to NC State. They were nothing but great to me. I grew up on a farm. A very blue-collared school. Coach [Dave] Doeren and Coach [Tony] Gibson mean the world to me. The way they developed me, as much as they put into me, I could never leave that school…it was really important to me to stay. I know that money is the root of all evil. So I’m not really out here chasing money. I love ball.”
NC State stuck with him through a difficult first few seasons, Wilson tearing his ACL in 2018 and suffering a season-ending shoulder surgery in 2021. Payton Wilson returned healthy for 2022 and 2023, posting a combined 220 tackles (30 for a loss), 10.5 sacks, four interceptions, and one touchdown. In those two years, the Wolfpack ranked top-25 in scoring defense.
Pittsburgh will look for a similar boost. Wilson’s rookie role is unclear and defensive snaps could be limited behind Patrick Queen and Elandon Roberts. But at the least, he’ll be excellent depth for a team that suffered a slew of inside linebacker injuries a year ago.
The Steelers’ draft class contained clear themes. Improving the offensive line. Finding value. But it also focused on players with the right attitude. Team-first, loyal, and not chasing the glitz and glam football’s capable of bringing.
