If the Pittsburgh Steelers hit on linebacker Payton Wilson, the rest of the NFL will kick themselves for passing him up. With talent never in question, the Steelers felt comfortable enough with Wilson’s shaky medical history to stop his draft fall late in the third round. A team that’s gotten comfortable assuming medical risks, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Gerry Dulac says Wilson could be tremendous value.
“If there were any questions about him medically, they would’ve passed on him,” Dulac said during a recent appearance on the Rich Eisen Show. “And to get him where they got him, to me, I think as I said, potentially the biggest steal to draft.”
Wilson’s story is well-documented. He suffered repeated knee and shoulder injuries late in his high school career and his first few seasons at NC State. Twice, he tore his ACL and twice in 2021, he underwent surgeries to repair his shoulders. It scared teams off with reportedly two-thirds of NFL teams taking him off their board. Pittsburgh, clearly, did not.
They’ll bank on getting the version of Wilson who stayed healthy his final two seasons with the Wolfpack, one of college football’s top linebackers who won the Bednarik and Butkus awards in 2023. Athletic, physical, with size and toughness, Wilson also plays with elite pursuit and effort to attack the ball all over the field.
“That’s not only potentially the steal of the Steelers’ draft; it could be the steal of the NFL draft,” Dulac said.
His role out of the gate is murky. Wilson is likely to receive some measure of playing time, but Elandon Roberts and Patrick Queen are two established veterans ahead of him. Wilson said he’s played in dime packages but in the regular season, Queen figures to assume that role.
Wilson could mix in with nickel groupings, rotating in every couple of series with Roberts, and Pittsburgh valued its three-man approach of Kwon Alexander, Cole Holcomb, and Roberts last season before injuries ripped that strategy away. While things like Holcomb’s health and rehab will partially dictate what Wilson does and doesn’t do, the ultimate influence on his playing time as a rookie will be his own play and performance this summer. But long-term, there’s a chance for Wilson to become a starter and punch well above his third-round value.
