Back at the 2024 Senior Bowl, I became a fast fan of one particular linebacker. I wasn’t sure at the time if the Steelers were going to be adding to that position, but even if they were I thought there is no way they would be able to land NC State ILB Payton Wilson.
He was college football’s Butkus and Chuck Bednarik Award winner in 2023, which is given to the top linebacker and top defensive player in football respectively. There was one particular phrase that he used in one of my interviews with him that made me fall in love with the idea of having him in Pittsburgh — “I wanna make every play. If we play 90 snaps, I wanna make 90 tackles and I’m not coming off the field.”
He had his first 10-tackle game just seven games into his NFL career, and it was while only playing 31 snaps on defense. We are definitely starting to see glimpses of him making “every play” and turning into the bargain that we all thought he was when he was taken at No. 98 overall in the third round.
Let’s take a look at five of his tackles from Sunday Night Football against the New York Jets.
This is probably the most impressive of the bunch. Wilson’s pursuit to the football and closing speed are two of his best traits, and he showed both of those here. His 4.43-second 40-yard dash was on full display. Sideline-to-sideline speed is such a big plus for an inside linebacker, and Wilson for sure has it.
This wasn’t a big positive play for the Steelers, but it still showed Wilson’s hustle. Good things happen when defenders swarm to the ball. He ran something like 17 yards to make this tackle downfield after a completion. It would have been nice to see him punching at the ball there given the receiver had no clue he was coming, but that will come as the game slows down for him.
Plays out in space are nice, but to be an every down linebacker, you have to be able to make plays in traffic near the line of scrimmage. Here, the guard scooped up to him at the second level, but he saw it coming and engaged with his arms to keep the block off him and fill the gap.
Making tackles one-on-one out in space is a skill. If a ball carrier knows you are coming, he can try to evade, throw a stiff arm, or hurdle a tackle depending on how you approach. Wilson read Aaron Rodgers’ eyes and closed on TE Tyler Conklin in the flat. He wrapped up and secured the tackle pretty easily to limit the gain to one yard.
And finally, here is yet another example of him covering a bunch of ground to make a tackle. This throw was all the way to the perimeter. He made sure the receiver couldn’t cut back inside and gang tackled him with Beanie Bishop Jr.
There is still room to grow, but Wilson continues to ascend for this defense. Having 10 tackles in 31 defensive snaps is really impressive. Imagine what he will be able to accomplish once he is not a rookie and playing a full complement of snaps.
