NC State LB Payton Wilson selected by Pittsburgh Steelers in 3rd round
For the eighth straight season, NC State has an NFL draft pick. Wolfpack linebacker Payton Wilson was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers with the 98th overall pick during the third round Friday night in Detroit.
Wilson is the first NC State player to be selected by the Steelers since running back Jaylen Samuels was picked in the fifth round of the 2018 draft. He is the first Wolfpack linebacker to be drafted since Germaine Pratt went to the Cincinnati Bengals in the third round in 2019.
The Hillsborough, N.C., native received an invitation to attend the draft in person, but he elected to watch it from home surrounded by his family.
Wilson, the Bednarik and Butkus Award winner, was the Wolfpack’s heart and soul of the defense this past season. Wilson logged 138 total tackles, including 17.5 for a loss, with six sacks, six passes defended, three interceptions and a forced fumble.
“I feel like I’m headed into the most important season of my life,” Wilson said after NC State’s Pro Day in late March. “Wherever I go, I want to show up in great shape, and just continue to be the player that I was this past year.”
While Wilson impressed on the field during the season, he did the same at the NFL Scouting Combine in February. He ran the fastest 40-yard dash of any linebacker this year (4.43) with the eighth-best broad jump at his position (9-foot-11) and ninth-highest vertical jump for the group (34.5).
“I was trying to show these teams if you don’t pick me, you’ll be missing out,” Wilson said this week of his predraft workouts.
The 6-foot-4, 238-pound linebacker closed his NC State career with 403 career tackles, the fifth-most in program history. He also finished his time in Raleigh with 15 total sacks, 13 passes defended, seven interceptions and one defensive touchdown (a pick-six against Clemson this past season)
Wilson is the Wolfpack’s 179th draft selection in program history and he is the 25th since coach Dave Doeren took over the program in 2013.
