Pittsburgh Steelers rookie ILB Payton Wilson certainly has hype men in his corner, such as Elandon Roberts and Patrick Queen. His fellow ‘backers never miss an opportunity to talk him up, which Queen had yesterday. Via the team’s website, he spoke about what he has seen from the rookie through training camp and the preseason.
“Great impact. The guy could do everything”, he said of Wilson, via the team’s website. “He’s an athletic freak. Just the things that he does and how well he communicates, and the want to be great is just rare to find in somebody that young. Just for him and the position he’s in to be able to come in and dominate, he realizes that. And he takes full advantage of it”.
A third-round pick out of North Carolina State, Payton Wilson’s medicals kept him from a higher draft position. Despite winning both the Butkus and Chuck Bednarik awards, teams worried about his durability. Outside of a clear health projection, he has everything you want in an inside linebacker.
Through two preseason games, Wilson has eight tackles, including one for loss. While he has had his “rookie moments”, on the whole he has looked as advertised. His teammates and coaches have maintained a consistently excitable demeanor whenever discussing him and his potential, generally a good sign.
For as solid an offseason the rookie has had, Payton Wilson is still behind Patrick Queen and Elandon Roberts. The Steelers signed Queen this offseason as a free agent to a three-year, $41 million contract. Roberts’ deal a year ago wasn’t nearly as lucrative, but he proved last season how valuable he can be.
In other words, Wilson won’t immediately vault into the starting lineup, but he will play. Coaches have talked about him playing in dime packages going back to the spring, so that’s no surprise. They will find opportunities to get him onto the field, and the more he does, the more snaps he earns.
During his final college season, Payton Wilson posted 138 tackles, 17.5 for loss, with six sacks, three interceptions, and a touchdown. He has the strength to play the run, the speed to play in coverage, and the moves to pass rush. On top of that, he has the intelligence and dedication to put all of his traits together into a complete football player.
That doesn’t change the fact that he is still a rookie, no matter how many people he impresses. Nobody is saying Wilson is going to immediately become the next Bobby Wagner, but the man will make plays.
Last year, the Steelers showed a preference for using three inside linebackers in a rotation. Roberts was a part of that along with Cole Holcomb and Kwon Alexander. Both of the latter two suffered season-ending injuries, neither currently healthy enough to play. Holcomb is still with the team but seems destined for the PUP List to start the season. Now it’s Queen and Roberts with Wilson playing that third role but expect the snap distribution to juggle over time.
