‘Blue-Collar’ LB Payton Wilson is Ready for Steelers Training Camp to Start
The Pittsburgh Steelers inside linebacker room in one of the deepest position pools that the team has as they enter the season with Elandon Roberts, Patrick Queen, Mark Robinson, Cole Holcomb and third-round pick Payton Wilson.
The 2023 Butkus Award winner will have to win a role as he is slotted behind some veteran players. His mindset is to show up to work and do whatever the team wants or needs him to do. His main goal is to help the team win a Super Bowl.
“I’m just super excited to go to Latrobe and compete. Since I was a youngin’, I wanna be the best in the world,” Wilson told Aaron Becker of Yardbarker. “Wherever that’s at, whatever role is handed to me. I’m gonna come in and I’m gonna help this team win a Super Bowl.”
While Wilson is the team’s third or fourth linebacker, he is slowly carving out a role for himself. Wilson ran a 4.43 40-yard dash and has flashed enough athleticism for the Steelers coaches to put him in as the dime linebacker. As the dime backer, Wilson will be tasked with covering skill guys such as tight ends and running backs.
“In our dime situations, I’m the backer that’s out there, so being able to cover man, whether it’s a tight end or running back, sometimes even on a slot, just having that faith from Coach [Aaron] Curry, Coach TA [Teryl Austin] just has been really awesome for me,” Wilson told Christopher Carter of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
While he covered tight ends in college, Wilson stated that the biggest difference is every guy at this level is quick and crisp while most of the tight ends in college are used mainly as blockers.
“In college, you have some good ones, don’t get me wrong, but a lot of times they’re blocking tight ends,” Wilson said. “But even Darnell [Washington], he’s 6-8, I don’t know how much he weighs, but he can run a crisp route, he’s pretty fast, so just every single person you go against, every tight end, every running back, you gotta be on your A game.”
With him already receiving first-team snaps at the dime backer, Wilson is a head of schedule as the team has not even reached training camp yet. Wilson stated that he cannot wait to get to camp and already has heard about how tough it is for the players.
“Yeah, they said it’s one of the hardest camps in the league, but I’m blue-collar, grew up on a farm,” Wilson said. “I’m super excited to kind of put the ball down and let’s play ball.”
Wilson should see plenty of snaps when the regular season comes and makes the absence of Holcomb a lot less important. If he can stay healthy, Wilson could pan out as the steal of the draft.
41 • Payton Wilson, Inside Linebacker, North Carolina State
6-foot-4, 242 pounds, 24 years old, 1st Season
Acquired: The Steelers drafted Payton Wilson with the 98th overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft.
Last Season: As a graduate student in 2023, Wilson recorded career highs in tackles, tackles for a loss, interceptions and defended passes. He finished the season with a staggering 138 combined tackles, 17.5 tackles for a loss and three interceptions. Wilson led the ACC in tackles per game and ranked fifth in the entire country. His 138 tackles were almost double the amount of the next closest guy on the team.
For his outstanding play, Wilson earned ACC Defensive Player of the Year, was named as a consensus All-American and won the Butkus (nation’s top linebacker) and Bednarik (nation’s top defensive player) Awards. He became just the fourth consensus All-American in school history.
College: Payton Wilson enrolled at North Carolina State early as a freshman but missed his spring practices due to him rehabbing a knew injury that he suffered in high school. After he was fully healed, Wilson suffered a second injury to his knee which made him miss the entire 2018 season.
In 2019, Wilson played in 11 games for the Wolfpack and started one. He managed to lead the team in tackles despite the lack of starts that he received. He finished the season with 69 tackles, five for a loss, four defended passes and one interception.
Wilson’s game really went up a level in 2020 as he recorded his first career 100-tackle season. He logged 108 tackles and led the ACC in tackles per game. He added 11.5 tackles for a loss, two interceptions and three defended passes. Wilson earned first-team All-ACC honors following the season.
Wilson’s 2021 season was cut short after just two games due to a bummed shoulder. In 2022, Wilson played in 11 games and notched 82 tackles, 12.5 tackless for a loss and one interception.
During his time with the Wolfpack, Wilson played in 46 games and racked up 402 combined tackles, 48 tackles for a loss, 15 sacks and seven interceptions.
| Year | GP | Tackles | TFLs | INTs | PDs |
| 2018 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2019 | 11 | 69 | 5 | 1 | 4 |
| 2020 | 10 | 108 | 11.5 | 2 | 3 |
| 2021 | 2 | 5 | 1.5 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | 11 | 82 | 12.5 | 1 | 4 |
| 2023 | 12 | 138 | 17.5 | 3 | 9 |
Salary cap and future: Payton Wilson is entering the first year of his standard four-year rookie contact. He will earn $1.02 million in cap space in 2024. His base salary is set at $795,000 while he is set to earn a $222,511 signing bonus in each season of his contract.
Wilson will become a free agent following the 2027 season.
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