The way Payton Wilson defines achieving his goals for his third NFL season, he won’t rest until he doesn’t have a chance to.
As in, he wants to work to prove he’s worthy of not taking a break — at least when the Pittsburgh Steelers are on defense.
“I want to be out there,” Wilson said last week, “every snap.”
That’s good, because that’s the type of player his new coach likes most.
“We all want four-down players,” Mike McCarthy said earlier this spring. “You’re looking to build a scope — particularly the running back position and linebacker positions — for value.”
In that light, Wilson’s value to the Steelers rose significantly last season for the Steelers. By the purest, simplest definition possible, Wilson was almost 50% more of a player for the defense in 2025 than he was as a rookie the year before.
Wilson played 732 defensive snaps last season, an increase over the 492 he played in 2024. That’s a 49% leap.
But even with that vastly augmented deployment, for more than one-third of the snaps last season, coaches decided there was a better option than Wilson.
There are signs, though, that the new coaching staff could be inclined to turn to the 6-foot-4, 242-pound Wilson more often.
Start with how free agency came and went in March without the Steelers signing an inside linebacker. Then in April — even after entering the draft with more selections than any other team — the Steelers used 10 picks without taking an inside linebacker.
Add in that starting position mate Patrick Queen is entering the final season of his contract — with little outward momentum apparent on ironing out an extension — and it gives the impression the Steelers are giving Wilson an opportunity to prove he can grow into the face of the middle of their defense.
Wilson said becoming more of a vocal leader was one of the things he wanted to change about his game.
“I think I was … putting a lot on (Queen’s) plate with him making pretty much every call,” Wilson said, referencing Queen’s “green dot” status as the hub of communication for the defense. “If he went down or something, obviously I made them. But him having to make the calls, I don’t want to take that role from him in any means, but I want to be able to help him. If he’s super exhausted like he normally is because he’s played every snap, just being able to help him with those things and just (showing) my understanding of what offenses I’m trying to do, rather than just memorization of my position in the scheme.”
Other than Wilson, the only inside linebackers signed beyond this season are Cole Holcomb (who was Wilson’s backup last season) and Carson Bruener (a special teams ace who has one career snap on defense).
Though Wilson joined the organization the same offseason in which Queen did as a free agent, the Steelers believed they were getting a playmaking steal in the third round of the 2024 draft. Wilson, after all, was coming off a season when he won the Chuck Bednarik Award given to the best defensive player in college football.
In earning unanimous All American designation for his play at NC State, Wilson had 138 tackles (69 solo, 17 1/2 for loss), three interceptions (including a pick-6), six sacks and six passes defended as a senior.
The reason he fell to the 98th overall pick apparently was a touchy injury history — Wilson reportedly has no ACL after tearing the ligament in high school — and not a lack of size.
New Steelers defensive coordinator Patrick Graham discussed the evolution of the off-ball linebacker earlier this spring. Gone are the days of the likes of the 260-pound Dont’a Hightower, whom he served as position coach for with the New England Patriots more than a decade ago.
“Are the (linebackers) a little bit smaller now? I think so,” Graham said. “But the game is more lateral now, too, and they’re running the ball, absolutely. But what we look for in the profile (is) the willingness to come downhill. Can they get their pads underneath people? Can they get to their hands? So, if they can do that, we’ll be in good shape. We’ll be fine.”
Graham seemed to be describing the profile for Wilson, who paced all linebackers in his draft class by running a blazing 4.33 in the 40-yard dash and has a reputation for being a so-called “downhill” tackler and playmaker.
In that sense, Wilson complements Queen well. Wilson had a team-leading 126 tackles last season in addition to two sacks, an interception, six tackles for loss and two passes defended.
“I’m really excited about our linebacker corps,” Graham said. “You’ve got a lot of athleticism and a lot of speed, a lot of willingness to get downhill and take on blockers, and they can get the ball carrier down.”