With a plethora of talent to go around on defense, there hasn't been much focus on Steelers rookie linebacker Payton Wilson this year. The 2023 compensatory third-round pick was an All-American at NC State, but a scary injury history caused him to slip in last April's draft.
But a player as good as Wilson can only be kept secret for so long.
Early in the year, Wilson struggled with assignments in coverage. This resulted in undesireable grades from Pro Football Focus. Since Pittsburgh's Week 9 bye, however, Wilson has graded out as one of the top off-ball linebackers in the league.
The rookie kept this impressive streak going in Week 14 against the Cleveland Browns. Though his box score numbers weren't noisy, Wilson showcased his sideline-to-sideline speed and impressive tackling ability to stop ball carriers dead in their tracks. This resulted in an impressive 78.3 grade on the game.
Wilson's showing marked the fifth straight game in which the talented linebacker earned an overall PFF grade of 70.0. With this strong performance, the dynamic LB has vaulted himself into the top-10 rankings at the linebacker position, according to PFF — earning the 10th spot after Week 14.
Payton Wilson could be the next All-Pro linebacker for Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are known for their long history of legendary linebackers, dating back to their Super Bowl teams of the '70s. Unfortunately, it's been a long time since this team has possessed a legitimate All-Pro linebacker.
Pro Bowler Ryan Shazier was the closest thing to this before a career-ending spinal injury. Since then, the Steelers have done a patchwork job trying to fill the void. Now they may have found a cornerstone player at the position.
At 6'4'' with 4.43 speed with a tremendous feel for the game, Payton Wilson is looking exactly like the linebacker we thought he could be if he stayed healthy. The NC State product was widely considered the best off-ball linebacker in college football before declaring for the 2024 NFL Draft.
This isn't to take anything away from Elandon Roberts or Patrick Queen — two linebackers on the Steelers who have been tremendous at times this season. But considering Wilson is doing all of this as a rookie, he's much further along than most linebackers in their first season.
Though Wilson is already 24 years old, he possesses every trait to be one of the best linebackers in the league. If he continues to develop at the rate we've seen him improve this year, the Steelers could finally have another All-Pro linebacker on their hands. He could be a cornerstone player on the roster who paves the way for the next generation of defenders in Pittsburgh.