Pittsburgh Steelers ILB Payton Wilson had a college career plagued by injury. That is precisely the reason he is an inside linebacker for the Steelers because he slid in the 2024 NFL Draft. The Steelers were able to draft him in the back end of the third round this year, but he is playing up to the level of a higher draft pick.
Not unexpected for a player who won most of the major awards a defensive player could win. But perhaps unexpected for a player most teams weren’t even willing to touch due to his medicals. After all, once upon a time, Wilson himself might have felt the same way.
“He was about ready to just hang it up just because he couldn’t stay healthy”, Mike DeFabo of The Athletic quotes Payton Wilson’s brother, Bryse, as saying. “I pretty much told him, ‘At this point, there’s really not much for you to lose. You have one more serious injury, it’s probably going to be over for you, and it’s going to be out of your hands anyways, so you might as well keep going and keep working’”.
Wilson experienced multiple serious knee injuries during his college career, as well as a shoulder injury. But he kept coming back, staying largely healthy his final two seasons. During his senior year, he put up the most tackles in college football with 138. That included 18 tackles for loss, six tackles, three interceptions, and a forced fumble.
The Steelers sought to revamp their inside linebacker room yet again, of which Payton Wilson was just a part. Their big move was signing Patrick Queen as a free agent, who also made an impact Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens. While Queen forced a critical fumble, Wilson recorded an improbable interception.
It was the first “splash play” of Payton Wilson’s NFL career despite logging plenty of snaps. Through 10 games, he has played 269 defensive snaps, over 40 percent of the team’s total. He has also played another 183 on special teams, totaling 42 tackles with one for loss. While he has registered a couple quarterback hits, Wilson is still looking for his first sack.
The Steelers have split time between Wilson and veteran Elandon Roberts, who has seen a larger share of the snaps since the bye week. In fact, Roberts has played over 50 percent of the snaps in each of the past two games.
Although he may not be consistently playing a high number of snaps, Wilson is producing for the Steelers when he is. And he is using his injury history and the perception that creates as fuel. When he decided to keep playing despite his numerous health setbacks, he determined to give it everything he has.
Oh, and Payton Wilson has stayed healthy all year, now going on three seasons of relatively consistent health. Granted, most teams’ concern was that he wouldn’t have a long career. The Steelers also took the same risk on TE Darnell Washington, now in his second season and leaping over defenders.
