If it wasn’t for injury concerns, Payton Wilson probably would have been selected higher than the third round back in 2024. And in his rookie year, he had a couple of huge plays that made the Pittsburgh Steelers feel like they got some good value in the young linebacker.
Heading into 2025, the team hoped he’d take the next step in his development. And while there were some good moments, there were plenty of bad ones mixed in between. With Wilson now going into his third year, Steelers beat writer Mark Kaboly spoke about the improvements the Steelers are hoping he can make.
“I think they’re hoping that Payton Wilson free lines the game a little bit more. I mean, you talk about a guy who’s up and down last year. I think he has all the talent in the world to be that next Patrick Queen-ish type of guy. He wants to play every single play. He’s historically, at least not last year maybe, a good cover guy. He can play downhill. He wants to be that guy,” Kaboly said Tuesday on his Kaboly + Mack show.
Wilson has been a good cover guy and even proclaimed himself as one of the best coverage linebackers in the game last offseason. Unfortunately, that didn’t come to fruition. Wilson saw an uptick in snaps with nearly 250 more than his rookie season. But he allowed completions on 41 of 45 targets and a passer rating of 104.7 when targeted.
If you’re not stopping the pass, it helps to be able to stop the run. And Payton Wilson did come away with 126 total tackles, an impressive number. But going past the box score, there were some issues. Wilson didn’t take great angles in pursuit. And like the rest of the defense, he just wasn’t filling his gaps consistently enough.
Yet, the talent is there. If there’s an argument for Wilson, it’s that “like the rest of the defense” aspect. He was not alone in his occasional struggles against the run or pass. From the linebacker position to the rest of the unit, there was hardly any consistency across the defense.
Mike Tomlin and Teryl Austin’s defense was poor in many ways, and that certainly could have affected Wilson. With a new defensive coordinator in Patrick Graham, there is some room for optimism. Wilson has shown flashes throughout his two years in the league. Maybe Graham can help him unlock something, and we could see a big step from the young linebacker.
He’ll have his chances, with linebacker being the only spot on the defense the team didn’t make any notable additions. The Steelers are certainly hoping Payton Wilson can take that next step, and Kaboly thinks it’s a possibility this year.