Pittsburgh Steelers LB Payton Wilson had a heck of a rookie season in 2024. Despite not being an every-down linebacker, Wilson finished the season with 78 total tackles, three tackles for a loss, one interception, two passes knocked down, a forced fumble, and two fumble recoveries, one of which he returned for a touchdown.
So, people had high expectations for Wilson in his second year. He did, too. He said his goal was to play every snap in 2025. But 2025 didn’t get off to a good start for Wilson. Thankfully for him and the Steelers’ defense, he turned it around Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings. Insider Ray Fittipaldo thinks the performance was good enough to get him back on track for playing plenty of snaps going forward.
“Payton Wilson didn’t play well the first couple of games. Got pushed around a little bit, got bullied a little bit in the run game,” Fittipaldo said Tuesday on the North Shore Drive podcast. “Thought he was more physical in this football game. Felt he was a big part of the Vikings not getting going in the run game. I’m just curious about how the rotation is going to unfold from here. We know they like Cole Holcomb. He’s going to be key against teams like the Ravens and other teams that run the ball. But Payton Wilson’s stepping back up here. And I think he’s put himself back in the conversation to be a high-snap guy.”
The Steelers actually turned to Cole Holcomb in Week 3 against the New England Patriots. And it paid off. The run defense had its best day to that point against running backs. And Holcomb actually out-snapped Wilson in the Steelers’ 21-14 win.
But against the Vikings in Dublin, the Steelers turned back to Payton Wilson. And he had his best game of the 2025 season with 13 total tackles, two tackles for a loss, and a hit on Vikings QB Carson Wentz. And he had one of the most impactful defensive plays late in the game.
BLOWN coverage and Payton Wilson tracks down Addison #Steelers pic.twitter.com/ZTQM635oOS
— Steelers Depot 7⃣ (@Steelersdepot) September 28, 2025
That’s just incredible effort by Payton Wilson. And it doesn’t hurt that he has elite NFL speed, not just elite linebacker speed. While the Vikings went on to score a touchdown there, Wilson’s tackle took essentially a minute off the game clock. That meant the Vikings didn’t have extra time to try to tie or win the game at the end.
Payton Wilson was part of a trio of players who had a rough start to 2025 but stepped up against the Vikings. As Fittipaldo said, the Steelers will continue to use Cole Holcomb to help combat run-heavy teams. But Wilson showed on Sunday in Ireland that he’s still the kind of player we all thought he could be after his rookie year. He’s still a young guy and has more to learn. However, the talent and effort are still there. And we saw that against the Vikings.
