The Pittsburgh Steelers made Payton Wilson their first defensive draft pick in 2024, coming in the back half of the third round. The inside linebacker has been a popular player both with fans and media, and the expectations are already high. That is fine by him because nobody has higher expectations for him than himself. And he is aiming to hit the ground running—and any ball carriers in his way—beginning with the season opener.
Of course, Wilson has one more preseason game to play tomorrow before the Steelers begin their regular-season slate. On Thursday, he laid out his goals for the third preseason game, aiming to ramp up for the real thing. In the process, he discussed his personal evolution through his rookie offseason.
“I’ve really enjoyed the preseason because it’s slowing the game down a lot. It’s not like we’re jumping right into Week 1 and then you have to adjust on the fly”, Payton Wilson said yesterday, via the Steelers’ website. “Week 1 [of the preseason] for me was super fast [and] I was super eager. And then Week 2 felt like, ‘Hey, it’s slowing down. The defense is coming to you, you’re able to play fast’. Then this next week, just gonna continue to build. So when I go to Atlanta, I’m able to fly around and play like myself”.
Entering training camp, Wilson already saw “a world of difference” from where he was during OTAs. Even at that time, he talked about feeling able to “play fast and freely”, so taking that into stadiums is the next logical step.
The 98th-overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, Payton Wilson won major awards during his senior season. At North Carolina State, he scored both the Butkus and Chuck Bednarik awards thanks to his all-around game. With 138 tackles, 17.5 for loss, six sacks, three interceptions, and a forced fumble, he showed he can do everything.
The only question teams had about Wilson was how long he could do all those things. Bucking widespread league trends, the Steelers were not put off by his medicals when they had the opportunity to draft him in the third round.
By the time they reached Wilson, they had already managed to draft three offensive players. They landed T Troy Fautanu in the first, followed by C Zach Frazier in the second. In the third round, they used their first of two selections on WR Roman Wilson.
Both Fautanu and Frazier look like they will start the opener, the latter already virtually guaranteed. As for Wilson and Wilson, they will have to work their way in. Roman Wilson suffered an ankle injury early in camp and hasn’t practiced since. He vowed to be back “soon”, but there is no timeline for that.
Payton Wilson exited last week’s game due to a concussion, but he has already cleared the protocol. He will play in tomorrow’s game and will be ready for the opener. From that point on, the question is how they work him in with Patrick Queen and Elandon Roberts.
