Pittsburgh Steelers grab Payton Wilson in 3rd round of NFL Draft

Turns out NFL teams were pretty concerned about Payton Wilson’s injury history, as the reigning ACC Defensive Player of the Year nearly slipped into day three of the draft. But the Steelers pulled the trigger on him late in the third round, at No. 98 overall. Seems like pretty good value to me.

Wilson is the fourth player selected by Pittsburgh in the draft through day two, and the Steelers’ first defensive pick. Defensive coordinator Teryl Austin spoke about the selection afterward, and when asked what stood out about Wilson, he responded, “speed; he can really go.”

NFL reporter Ian Rapoport explained that teams were concerned by the shoulder surgery Wilson had, which apparently “was not a great operation,” and the fact that Wilson doesn’t have an ACL in one knee. The latter was definitely news to me.

Maybe the removal of one ACL is what unlocked his powers, though, did anyone consider that? Obviously, there are not 97 guys in this draft better than Payton Wilson at football, so the injury concerns wound up giving Pittsburgh a potential steal.

The draft slide stinks for Payton because it cost him money, but he landed in a good place, and if his health holds up like it did in 2023, he’ll be just fine.