PITTSBURGH --Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Payton Wilson overcame his injury issues in college in his rookie season, playing a significant role and not ever going down with an injury.
Wilson became one of the best rookie linebackers in football and has placed himself in the ascending player tier of linebackers. He had 78 tackles, three tackles for loss, one interception, and one forced fumble.
The issue for the talented Steelers linebacker is they often did not trust him on run-downs. That went to Elandon Roberts, who took many early down snaps alongside Patrick Queen.
So, what did Wilson do this offseason? In addition to training his hand usage to work on his block shedding, he bulked up. Wilson says he now weighs 243 pounds, the most he has ever weighed in his playing career.
“It’s not the easiest thing in the world,” Wilson said “I can put weight on when I need to, but there’s no reason to be running around on 250 pounds. I think my speed is one of the best in the world at my position. At 243, I’m still as fast as I was last year. It’s having a good balance of speed and power.”
With Roberts out of the picture, things could get hairy for the Steelers. Wilson was viewed as a luxury pick a year ago, but he hopes to prove he was more than a worthy investment for the Steelers.
“Just continue to show the guys that I have what it takes with knowing the playbook, communicating, and then just flying around every snap,” Wilson said. “Last year, we had E-Rob, who had been here for a long time. But now that he’s gone, I feel like there’s a good chance of being able to take every snap, and I’m pretty excited for it.”
Wilson is out to prove he can become that three-down linebacker the Steelers drafted in the third round. They signed Malik Harrison and brought back Cole Holcomb so that either player could take that role left behind by Roberts.
Yet Wilson does not want this to be a three-man rotation like last year. Instead, he hopes he and Queen can be the all-down duo.
“Like I said since last year, whatever they need me to do, I’m gonna do it,” Wilson said. “Obviously, I want to be out there every single snap trying to prove myself.”