Payton Wilson logged 44 snaps in his Pittsburgh Steelers debut, a handful of which he spent next to Elandon Roberts. Roberts, however, checked out early, logging 11 snaps. The veteran, along with Patrick Queen, had plenty to advise Wilson on when he came off the field, as the rookie mentioned after the game.
“I appreciate [Payton Wilson] crediting us”, Elandon Roberts told Jason Mackey after the game via the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “But at the end of the day, he has to go out there and play. He had some really good plays. I was out there with him. He was very calm and poised. That’s all guys like me and [Patrick Queen] can ask for”.
A third-round pick out of North Carolina State, Payton Wilson won multiple college awards for his excellence last season. He also tested very well at the NFL Scouting Combine, but concerns about his medicals scared many teams off.
While the Steelers don’t need Wilson to start immediately, they seem to plan for him to play. He can function in a dime role while Roberts takes a breather, perhaps sometimes Queen, too. In the meantime, the rookie is learning all he can from the older veterans.
During his snaps, Payton Wilson recorded six tackles on defense, including one for loss. He also recorded a tackle on special teams, on which units he logged another 13 snaps. He played on both coverage units and the kick return unit but not on punt returns. They also had the rookie lining up on the field goal-blocking unit.
While he missed some tackles, on the whole, Wilson played pretty well. He generally diagnosed plays well, did a good job of moving quickly, and consistently found himself around the ball. There are a number of fine details he will have to go over, but he certainly has the makings of a player. Or, as Brian Baldinger put it, “he just looks good in the Black and Gold”.
But Wilson’s coaches will want to see a big jump in the fine details from the first game to the next. Given the layoff between football games, it’s possible that he also suffered some endurance issues as the game wore on.
On the whole, there was nothing Payton Wilson showed that offered much concern. I’m sure his coaches will enjoy pointing out where he made mistakes because he’ll be eager to correct them. Now that he has his first real taste of NFL action, he can build from there.
Even better, the Steelers know they have Wilson in a room full of great role models. Patrick Queen is close to him in age but is an All-Pro-caliber player. Elandon Roberts is a very intelligent and physical player. Between the two of them, they can help bring Wilson’s game into a complete force. And they are eager to provide him immediate feedback, tablet in hand, when he steps off the field.
