The Pittsburgh Steelers landed what could end up being the steal of the 2024 NFL Draft when they waited until the No. 98 overall pick in the third round to select NC State ILB Payton Wilson. On talent and production alone, he was arguably a first or second-round prospect, but an extensive injury history pushed him to the end of day two.
He is entering a rather crowded inside linebacker room with Patrick Queen, Elandon Roberts and Cole Holcomb, but one NFL analyst thinks he has what it takes to be a dark horse Defensive Rookie of the Year candidate.
“The rookie linebacker could emerge as one of the headliners of Pittsburgh’s stout defense as a tackling machine with exceptional instincts,” Bucky Brooks wrote via NFL.com. “Wilson is a big-play specialist with unique skills as a pass rusher and coverage player.
“The 6-foot-4, 233-pounder who blazed a 4.43 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine is a menacing presence all over the field, demanding that opponents pay close attention to his whereabouts on every play. Given the freedom to run and chase behind a stellar front line, Wilson should stuff the stat sheet as a dominant playmaker on Mike Tomlin’s defense.”
Wilson has quite a bit of experience already at stuffing the stat sheet from his time in college. He finished college with an astounding 402 total tackles, 202 solo tackles, 48 tackles for loss, 15 sacks, 7 interceptions, 6 pass breakups, 1 forced fumble and a defensive touchdown. That includes a monster year in 2023 that earned him both the Butkus and Bednarik Awards given to college football’s best linebacker and defensive player respectively.
Wilson, as well as defensive coordinator Teryl Austin, have already spoken about what Wilson’s role could look like early on in his career. That could be starting out as the team’s dime linebacker in subpackage football. His athletic abilities will work well in coverage as well as rushing the passer.
If he excels in that role and shows every bit of the talent that he appeared to have in college, it shouldn’t be long until he earns a larger share of the snaps on defense. Even if it isn’t an earned increase in playing time, the Steelers suffered an inordinate amount of injuries at that position last year. Wilson could very well find himself starting due to his own performance or due to an injury to somebody ahead of him on the depth chart.
If that happens early enough in the season, I could see him earning looks for the Defensive Rookie of the Year. Brooks had him down as +2600 for his current odds to win the award. However long of a shot it may be, Wilson has the talent and mindset to make that happen. He has already said he wants to be the best in the world. Winning the rookie award would be a great start to making that a reality.
