Back at the 2024 Senior Bowl, I became a fast fan of one particular linebacker. I wasn’t sure at the time if the Steelers were going to be adding to that position, but even if they were I thought there is no way they would be able to land NC State ILB Payton Wilson.
He was college football’s Butkus and Chuck Bednarik Award winner in 2023, which is given to the top linebacker and top defensive player in football respectively. There was one particular phrase that he used in one of my interviews with him that made me fall in love with the idea of having him in Pittsburgh — “I wanna make every play.