Without Nick Herbig, Alex Highsmith, and DeMarvin Leal this weekend, the Pittsburgh Steelers are casting a wide net for outside linebacker help. It doesn’t include rookie Payton Wilson. Mike Tomlin ruled Wilson out of being considered to play on the EDGE, keeping him at his usual off-ball linebacker spot.
“He does not,” Tomlin said Tuesday via the Steelers’ YouTube channel when asked if Wilson has the skill set to bump out there.
While the thought might sound curious, Wilson has a background there. At NC State, Wilson routinely played on the edges in addition to working as the Wolfpack’s off-ball linebacker. Per Pro Football Focus, Wilson lined up at outside linebacker on 174 snaps in 2023. In 2022, he logged over 120 snaps there. And though not all of his sacks came off the edge, he recorded 15 QB takedowns during his college career, including finishing second on his squad with six of them his senior year.
But for Pittsburgh, his role won’t change. Payton Wilson has been an exclusive off-ball linebacker since being drafted, rotating with veteran Elandon Roberts. Wilson plays in nickel packages while Roberts sees the field on base downs. Wilson’s overall play has been inoffensive and gradually improving, getting more downhill against the run and showing the sideline-to-sideline range that made him one of college football’s most exciting linebackers. Five games into his rookie year, Wilson has 20 tackles, tied with T.J. Watt for fifth on the team.
Tomlin’s comments are sensible. Payton Wilson isn’t a natural pass rusher to win off the edge and is best up the middle. There’s no need to thin out both outside and inside linebacker spots by kicking Wilson out. The team could get creative and blitz more often, creating more opportunities for Wilson, but that won’t come as a true outside linebacker.
Instead, the team will lean on T.J. Watt and Jeremiah Moon as its starters. Practice squaders Ade Ogundeji and Eku Leota will compete to be elevated and back up those two this weekend. It’s possible even both are signed/elevated to make sure Pittsburgh has four outside linebackers, its usual number of able bodies at the position on gameday.
