Payton Wilson only has one season with the Pittsburgh Steelers under his belt. However, he already seems to understand their culture quite well. Speaking in an interview posted Friday, Wilson was asked to describe the Steelers culture in three words.
“I think it’s just, you know, tough, fast and physical,” Wilson said on The German Steelers podcast. “Whenever you watch the Steelers, that’s what you see, right? You see people flying around, you see a mean team. And you see guys that are looking to take other people’s heads off. That’s just the culture around here. I mean, that’s all the way from the biggest guy on the team, all the way down to the smallest guy on the team. That’s just the persona and the culture that we have here.”
Over the years, the words tough, fast and physical have been a good way to describe this unit. However, they started to slip from that toward the end of the 2024 season.
Given their lack of run defense to end the year, the word physical probably didn’t suit them. The Steelers were gashed against the run multiple times last year, with problems against bad teams like the New York Giants, and against the best teams, most notably their blowout loss to the Baltimore Ravens in the playoffs.
That said, it is something they’ve worked to address this offseason, across all areas of their roster. On the defensive line, Pittsburgh drafted three players: Derrick Harmon, Yahya Black and Jack Sawyer. Harmon and Black especially should help against the run. While Minkah Fitzpatrick still played the run well, Pittsburgh swapped him for a physical corner in Jalen Ramsey.
Even on the offensive side of the ball, the Steelers looked to add that physicality. DK Metcalf is a big-bodied receiver who isn’t afraid to block. And with Kaleb Johnson and Jaylen Warren, the Steelers should be quite physical in the run game themselves.
It’s good to see Payton Wilson is buying into the culture. He has an opportunity to really make a name for himself this year. After some great moments in his rookie season, he’s in line to start alongside Patrick Queen on the inside.
You’ve got to be tough to contend in the AFC North. The Steelers weren’t tough enough last year, and it showed as the season came to a close. While some of their moves this offseason were surprising, it’s not a shock that they wanted to be a tougher team overall. In nearly all of their moves this offseason, the effort to be more physical is apparent. We’ll see if that makes a difference or not in 2025.
