The Pittsburgh Steelers selected NC State LB Payton Wilson with the 98th pick of the 2024 NFL Draft, the second of the team’s two third-round selections. The Steelers showed plenty of interest in the inside linebacker position during the pre-draft process, having LB Coach Aaron Curry go to several Pro Days to work out prospects while doing their due diligence by having both Michigan LB Junior Colson and Wilson come in for pre-draft visits.
GM Omar Khan said at the Combine that inside linebacker was a position that they wanted to address. The Steelers managed to make a splash signing with former Baltimore Ravens LB Patrick Queen in free agency, but the value to draft a player of Wilson’s caliber late in the third round was an opportunity they couldn’t pass up to continue to add to the room.
In my scouting report on Wilson, I concluded that he possesses excellent size, athleticism and instinctiveness that pops off the screen, being a blur running sideline to sideline in pursuit of the ball whether it be as a run defender or pass rusher. While Wilson is a great see-ball, get-ball playmaker, I wanted to do a deeper dive into his prowess as a coverage defender and see what type of player Pittsburgh is currently getting at off-ball linebacker to defend the pass.
Patrick Wilson posted a career-best 90.4 coverage grade in 2023 according to Pro Football Focus, ranking sixth at the linebacker position last season in college football. You see how he earned those high marks especially when Wilson was playing in zone coverage, being comfortable playing in space and making his zone drops in the middle of the field as well as toward the flats.
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.
Wilson does well when allowed to work to the ball in off coverage/zone coverage, allowing his eyes to take him to the ball where he can either make a tackle at the catch, or step in-front of the pass to make a play. He also will be in the right place at the right time to capitalize on opportunities like the one below against Clemson, catching a batted pass at the line of scrimmage and taking it back to the house for the defensive score.
Speaking of batted passes, Wilson has a knack for knocking down balls at the line of scrimmage when attempting to rush the passer or when operating as a quarterback spy. He has 13 pass deflections and 7 interceptions during his college career, having the awareness to get his hands up in passing lanes and knock down balls like you see in the clips below
When it comes to man coverage, Wilson has the size and speed to run with running backs and tight ends across the field, but he can be a bit slow to process and mirror the receiver’s break at the top of their route. This leads to separation being created like in the clip below against Wake Forest, where Wilson gets turned around by the running back coming out of the backfield and up the seam, getting out of position for the back to make the easy catch and get up field for the first down.
Still, a feather that sits in Wilson’s cap is his pure speed and closing ability that shows up in the passing game as well as a run defender. In the clips below, we see Wilson get on his horse to rally to the receiver that caught the pass, even if that player wasn’t Wilson’s coverage responsibility. He does a great job tracking down the ball carriers in the clips below against Notre Dame, keeping them from reaching the end zone thanks to great effort after the catch was made to get the stop.
Overall, Payton Wilson is a capable coverage defender who shouldn’t be considered a savant in coverage like Fred Warner, who sets the standard at the position in the league. However, Wilson has the qualities and traits that you want to see in a competent coverage player.
He’s by far a better coverage player than Mark Robinson is, making him nearly a shoo-in to overtake Robinson on the depth chart from the start of training camp. That’s not a high bar to beat, but depending how LB Cole Holcomb’s recovery continues to progress, there is a realistic situation where Pittsburgh could role with Queen and Wilson as their two linebackers in certain sub packages and limit LB Elandon Roberts’ burn there as more of an early down defender.
Wilson has the capability to be a solid zone coverage defender, as well as make a couple plays against the pass as a rusher, getting his hands up in passing lanes like OLB T.J. Watt has made a living of doing over the last several years. He needs to continue to refine his craft as a man coverage defender, but his instincts, athleticism and effort will put him in position to make plays as a pass coverage defender in Pittsburgh’s defense.
