There is a lot of buzz around Pittsburgh Steelers rookie ILB Payton Wilson right now. A third-round draft pick, he comes in ostensibly in a reserve role, but can potentially be a high-quality starter. By the sounds of it, his fellow inside linebackers see that same potential in him.
“Payton’s a great guy, great teammate. Edgy guy, very cool, calm demeanor guy”, Patrick Queen said of Wilson, via the Steelers’ YouTube channel over the weekend. “He’s a real cool guy, but on the football field, he just turns into a whole ‘nother animal”.
Listening to him talk, Wilson certainly has a serious but low-key, even-keeled personality. On the football field, it’s a different story, though, because he has a job to do. As he is proving as the weeks go on, he also knows how to do it and then some.
The Steelers drafted Payton Wilson out of North Carolina State despite reservations around the league about his medical history. He suffered multiple serious injuries during his college career, but he stayed healthy the last two seasons.
He had a particularly dominant 2023 campaign, winning both the Butkus Award and the Chuck Bednarik Award. The Butkus Award honors the best linebacker in college football, while the Chuck Bednarik Award goes to the best defensive player.
Both Minkah Fitzpatrick and Tyler Matakevich, current Steelers, previously won the Chuck Bednarik Award. The latter joked about forming a club of winners with Wilson, admitting he does keep track of previous winners.
“He’s gonna be a special player. Kid’s a freak”, Matakevich said of Wilson. “I didn’t realize how big he was until I actually saw him once I came up here. I saw him get drafted and stuff like that. He could flat-out fly. He’s a smart kid. I definitely think that the sky’s the limit for him”.
The Steelers signed Patrick Queen to a big-money deal this offseason to start, and they also have Elandon Roberts. But the coaches will have a difficult time, I think, keeping Payton Wilson off the field once he starts playing. He won’t want to come off, but more importantly, they won’t want to take him off.
Wilson, already 24, is an older rookie for a variety of reasons, including his previous injuries. He played five seasons in college, missing all but two games in 2021. Last season, he recorded 138 tackles with 17.5 for loss, plus six sacks, a forced fumble, and three interceptions.
He has the intelligence and athleticism to do just about anything you could ask of an off-ball linebacker. He also has the size, though he will probably bulk up some over the course of his first professional season. Even Wilson himself has seen the difference in his game just from the spring to now.
