Payton Wilson

Steelers selected NC State LB Payton Wilson with the No. 98 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.

Wilson (6'4/233) was considered the fourth-best outside linebacker from the 2018 prep class, making him one of the older prospects in the draft. He suffered a right ACL tear as a senior in HS that cost him his freshman season, slowing down the beginning of his college career. He hit his stride in 2020, leading the Wolfpack with 57 tackles, 45 stops and 11.5 TFL in just 10 games en route to receiving First Team All-ACC recognition. Injuries reared up again costing Wilson the last ten games of the 2021 season after a dislocation that required surgery on both shoulders to fully clear up. He recovered well enough to start 11 games in 2022 with 12.5 TFL, 4.5 sacks and a 70th percentile PFF defensive grade. The decision to come back for his sixth-year proved prescient as Wilson lit the ACC ablaze for 138 tackles, 17.5 TFL and 67 stops to go with a scorching 4.4% sack rate. The consensus First Team All-American became the first player in NC State history to win either the Butkus Award, given to the best linebacker in the FBS, or the prestigious Bednarik Trophy awarded to the nation’s top overall defensive player. Wilson put forth a sensational performance on the Combine track, running a 4.43s 40-yard dash (99.5th%) and 1.53s 10-yard split (98.6th%) to go with a 6.85s 3-Cone (96th%) and 4.20s shuttle (90th%). His phenomenal testing performance confirms the 23.7 MPH he hit in-game during the season for a bona fide freaky 9.89 Relative Athletic Score. Wilson is instinctive in coverage and crafty when disguising his intentions in zone, adept at tracking the QBs eyes and breaking on the ball. There are major, glaring injury concerns but Wilson has all the tools needed to be successful in the NFL.