# Payton Wilson

Payton Wilson (born April 21, 2000) is an American professional football linebacker for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at NC State, winning the Chuck Bednarik Award and Butkus Award in 2023. Wilson was selected by the Steelers in the third round, 98th overall in the 2024 NFL draft.

## Early life

Wilson grew up in Hillsborough, North Carolina and attended Orange High School. As a junior, he made 127 tackles with 39 tackles for loss and 13 sacks. Wilson also won the North Carolina 3A 220-pound wrestling state championship during his junior year. He had 103 tackles, 21 tackles for loss, and 10 sacks before tearing his ACL during his senior year. Wilson was rated a four-star recruit and initially committed to play college football at North Carolina (UNC) over offers from Clemson, Ohio State, and Virginia Tech. He later decommitted from UNC and ultimately signed to play at North Carolina State.

## College career

Wilson suffered a second knee injury during summer training camp and redshirted his true freshman season at NC State. He led the Wolfpack with 69 tackles during his redshirt freshman season. Wilson made 108 tackles with 11.5 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, and two interceptions and was named first team All-Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) in his redshirt sophomore season. He suffered a season ending shoulder injury in the second game of his junior season. In 2023, Wilson received the Butkus Award given annually to college football's best linebacker.

## Professional career

Pre-draft measurables :
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump |
| 6 ft 3+7⁄8 in (1.93 m) | 233 lb (106 kg) | 30+1⁄2 in (0.77 m) | 9 in (0.23 m) | 4.43 s | 1.54 s | 2.58 s | 4.20 s | 6.85 s | 34.5 in (0.88 m) | 9 ft 11 in (3.02 m) |
| All values from NFL Combine/Pro Day |||||||||||

### Pittsburgh Steelers
#### 2024

The Pittsburgh Steelers selected Wilson in the third round (98th overall) of the 2024 NFL draft. The Pittsburgh Steelers acquired the third round pick from the Philadelphia Eagles after trading Kenny Pickett and a fourth round pick to the Eagles for the 98th overall selection and two seventh round picks in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Ahead of the regular season, Wilson was named the team's second string left inside linebacker behind Patrick Queen, beating out Mark Robinson for the backup role.
On August 17, 2024, during a pre-season game against the Buffalo Bills, Wilson was tackled by Ryan Van Demark and his back leg was stepped up on and bent backwards. Despite this injury, he still made his first professional appearance in Week 1 against the Atlanta Falcons where he would make his first tackle on wide receiver Drake London. He would finish the game making three tackles in the 18–10 Steelers victory. By Week 6 of the season, Wilson had accumulated 18 tackles and eight assists, averaging 3.3 tackles a game. On October 13, he recorded his first tackle for loss during the Steelers' 32–13 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders. During the Steelers' 18–16 win over the Baltimore Ravens, Wilson intercepted a pass from Lamar Jackson intended for Justice Hill for his first career interception. He scored his first defensive touchdown in another divisional game, this time against the Bengals, when he returned a Joe Burrow fumble for 21 yards as the Steelers won 44–38. Wilson finished the regular season with 64 total tackles, one fumble recovery, a defensive touchdown, and an interception. The Steelers achieved a 10-7 record and clinched a playoff berth as the sixth seed.
He made his post-season debut in a 28-14 wild card loss to the Baltimore Ravens on January 11, 2025. During the game, Wilson made three solo tackles and three assisted tackles.

## NFL Career Statistics
### Regular season

| Year | Team | Games | Games | Defensive | Defensive | Defensive | Defensive | Defensive | Fumbles | Fumbles |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | Tot | PD | Int | Yds | TD | FR | TD |
| 2024 | PIT | 17 | 4 | 64 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Career | Career | 17 | 4 | 64 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |

### Postseason

| Year | Team | Games | Games | Defensive | Defensive | Defensive | Defensive | Defensive | Fumbles | Fumbles |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | Tot | Solo | Ast | PD | Int | FR | TD |
| 2024 | PIT | 1 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | Career | 1 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

## Personal life

Wilson is the younger brother of Major League Baseball pitcher Bryse Wilson.