When the Pittsburgh Steelers used the second of their two third-round picks on ILB Payton Wilson out of NC State, they did so with the scars from the 2023 season in mind. Last year, they entered with a solid three-man rotation only to lose two of them to season-ending injuries. They were forced to sign guys from the practice squad to start for the team, and it complicated a lot of things on the defensive side of the ball. Head coach Mike Tomlin even admitted at one point that they were simplifying the defense due to the number of injuries at inside linebacker and safety.
So even after adding Patrick Queen in free agency, the Steelers further bolstered the position with Wilson in the draft. It will be a crowded room with Elandon Roberts, Queen, Wilson, and Cole Holcomb once he is able to return from injury. But that isn’t stopping CBS Sports’ Chris Trapasso from calling his shot and predicting that Wilson will earn a key role within the defense.
“I cannot rave enough about Wilson in Pittsburgh,” Trapasso wrote in a Wednesday morning post highlighting some rookies outside of the first round who could earn key roles this season. “This is a supremely gifted athlete who was wildly productive as a blitzer, against the run, and in coverage at NC State. He had 13 pass breakups and seven interceptions in his five-year stint with the Wolfpack. And the Steelers were desperate for steady — and explosive — linebacker play a season ago.”
Since the draft, we have posted two film rooms of Wilson on the site breaking down much of what Trapasso wrote about. Check out Jonathan Heitritter’s breakdown of his coverage skills, and my post highlighting all of his college sacks.
So what could Wilson’s role be to start out his rookie season? He already discussed with the media after an OTA practice that he has been running in the dime sub-package as the dime linebacker. That is where the defense puts six defensive backs on the field and leaves just one linebacker. If he can excel in that role, it will only be a matter of time before he starts eating into Roberts’ reps in the base defense alongside Queen.
Last year, CB Joey Porter Jr. ended up playing 72 percent of the team’s snaps on defense with 807 during his rookie season. DT Keeanu Benton played 43 percent with 484 snaps. Wilson won’t end up with as many snaps as Porter had with as crowded as the ILB room is, but could he earn a similar share to Benton’s rookie season? That seems possible.
If the reports are to be believed, over half of the league felt that Wilson could only be a one-contract player due to his injury history. The Steelers didn’t seem to be as concerned, but it still wouldn’t be a bad idea to maximize his rookie contract as much as possible. He has a chance to make this the best ILB group the Steelers have had in years. And with the Steelers reportedly re-signing CB Cam Sutton this morning, it could be the best defense they have had in years, too.
