Pittsburgh Steelers draft choice Payton Wilson is already 24 years old. The first-year linebacker spent six years at NC State, redshirting in 2018 and playing parts of the next five seasons with the Wolfpack.
So, Wilson has a bit more polish and perspective than the average rookie. That was evident last week during minicamp when he was asked what the biggest difference is between how coaches coach in the NFL, versus how they coach in college.
“In college, defensive coordinators and linebackers coaches kind of have to work around deficiencies,” Wilson said. “But up here, there aren’t any deficiencies. The trust and the skillset that’s on that field allows them to do that. In college, if a guy goes down, you can’t just pick somebody up. You’ve got to work with what you’ve got. Having to call certain things (in order) to hide certain things is a lot different than what I’ve seen here.”
On the surface, Wilson’s quote has a lot of perspective and makes a lot of sense. If you get an injury or two at a certain position, the college sophomore depth chart player may not be big enough or strong enough yet. And the freshman behind him may not know the system.
But in the pros, it’s simply a case of, “Just get another guy who can do the job.”
Unfortunately for the Steelers, though, at Wilson’s position of inside linebacker in recent years, the organization’s coaching staff and front office has had to put that theory very much to the test.
Ever since Ryan Shazier’s career was cut short in 2017 with a spine injury, it feels like the Steelers have been coaching around deficiency at that position — or, at the very least, flailing at multiple attempts to find some level of consistency.
Injuries (Cole Holcomb, Kwon Alexander), poor draft choices (Devin Bush) and disappointing veteran acquisitions (Jon Bostic, Myles Jack, Joe Schobert, Avery Williamson and Mark Barron) have led to that position becoming a black hole for six and a half years.
The Steelers may not have been “working away from deficiencies” at that spot to the college-level extent that Wilson was talking about, but it’s been close.
This year, though, partially because of Wilson’s arrival, the Steelers may not have that problem.
Along with drafting Wilson, the 2023 Butkus Award winner as the country’s best linebacker, the Steelers signed Pro Bowler Patrick Queen away from the rival Baltimore Ravens in free agency this offseason. Elandon Roberts proved to be more than just a run-stopper last year. Holcomb may be back practicing in training camp after a devastating leg injury in 2023 that some thought may lead to him being sidelined well into 2024. And Mark Robinson is still available as a kinetic depth piece.
“Our linebackers’ superpower is that everybody can do a little bit of everything. Not pin-holing somebody as only a blitzer, as only a cover guy. But preparing guys to be ready for every role, every task we ask of them,” ILBs coach Aaron Curry said Wednesday.
That’s certainly why the Steelers are paying $41 million over the next three years to Queen: to be an every-down, multi-functional linebacker. Blitz, play the run solidly and cover. He was able to do that to the tune of being a second-team All-Pro in Baltimore last year. If he gets healthy, Holcomb could be a lesser version of that. He showed such potential in the early stages of last year before his knee injury cut him down after just eight games.
Meanwhile, Roberts proved surprisingly capable of playing in all situations last year. He arrived in Pittsburgh with the reputation of being a run-stopper and blitzer. But when the ranks got thin after season-ending injuries to Holcomb and Alexander, Roberts handled the extended snaps and responsibilities much better than anticipated.
As for Wilson, some question his ability to get off blocks and play stout enough in the run game early in his NFL career, but his athleticism in coverage and potentially rushing the passer are intriguing to Steelers coaches.
“He can really run. If you watch practice, that guy can move,” defensive coordinator Teryl Austin said Wednesday. “I think he’s really sharp. He’s into football. He has great football questions. I think that he’s going to have a legitimate shot to be a dime linebacker right off the bat because that is one area that he can do. He can cover. He can run. He’s smart.”
In theory, yes, Wilson and Queen should be able to improve the Steelers play as the lone linebackers whenever either one is called upon to play in the dime package. But Wilson and Roberts could also both complement Queen when deployed alongside him in base or nickel situations.
When paired with Roberts, Queen can patrol the middle of the field and worry about coverage responsibilities, while Roberts can blitz or attack the line of scrimmage in the run game. When paired with Wilson, Queen, who was proficient as a blitzer last year in Baltimore when paired with Roquan Smith, can get downhill after the quarterback while Wilson covers.
“We all do everything well,” Queen said last week.
“We are positionless. Everybody can do everything. We can all blitz and cover. When the season comes, you’ll see everybody doing everything. Offenses are never going to have a tell as to one guy who is always the blitzer and one guy who is always the dropper (into coverage).”
If all of that is accurate, not only will inside linebacker actually be a position that is no longer deficient for the Steelers, it may actually be one that is a position of strength.
