Based on his film alone, Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Payton Wilson could have been a first-round pick. He was the 2023 Dick Butkus Award winner as the best linebacker in the country. Analyst Brian Baldinger took that thought a step further, saying that Wilson would have been a top-20 pick without his injury history.
It’s that very injury history that caused Wilson to fall to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the third round of the 2024 NFL Draft. There are concerns that Wilson may never be more than a one-contract player in the league, but the Steelers were adamant that their doctors cleared Wilson and that there is no concern going forward.
However, there has been lasting impact from those injuries. Not in a bad way, though. It’s shaped how Wilson views life and football.
“I think as a person, it helped my faith grow,” Wilson told Missi Matthews in a one-on-one interview for Steelers.com. “Super-religious family, Jesus Christ is everything to me. So just continuing to understand that He has a plan for me and no matter what it is that I’m gonna be okay with it. And then on the field, I really learned that I was taking everything for granted. Just the opportunity to play football, you never really know until it gets taken away from you and you watch people do what you love to do and you’re not able to. So just continuing to play every single snap like it’s my last…you don’t, ‘Oh, I gotta do this, I gotta do this. No, I get to do this.”
Practicing for football is a grueling process. It takes a lot of energy and effort. Some people will see that as a burden and something to tolerate. Wilson sees it as a chance to keep doing something he loves. Losing the ability to play for a time helped put things in perspective for him. It also helped shape how he plays the game.
Wilson has talked about how aggressive he plays, and while it’s not a new approach, the injuries helped refine it. He could have completely lost the ability to play football after suffering another major knee injury during the 2021 season.
Instead, Wilson bounced back and has not missed a game since returning for the 2022 season. While 2022 was certainly a success, 2023 was a career season for him. He set career highs in just about every single statistical category on his way to winning the Butkus Award. He had 138 total tackles, 17.5 tackles for a loss, six sacks, and three interceptions (and returned one for a touchdown). He also knocked down six passes, forced one fumble, and had two fumble recoveries.
Wilson was like the Tasmanian Devil on the field for NC State in 2023. He proved that even after the injuries, he can be a dominant force in the middle of a defense. He plans on taking that dominance to the NFL with the Steelers.
“You’re gonna get everything that I can possibly give for as long as I’m here and as long as I play this game,” Wilson said.
Steelers fans should expect Payton Wilson continuing to play like a man whose hair is on fire, wreaking havoc all over the field for as long as he possibly can.
