No player played more snaps than rookie ILB Payton Wilson in the Pittsburgh Steelers’ preseason opener against the Houston Texans. He played 44 snaps and led the team with seven total and five solo. He also had one tackle for loss. It wasn’t a perfect debut, as he missed at least two tackles, but he was consistently in the frame on the broadcast and in the ball zone.
Brian Baldinger analyzed some of his plays: Post to X.
“I was at Latrobe last week and I saw Payton Wilson play and I thought, ‘Oh, he’s going to be great,'” Boldinger said. “He’s big and fast, but he can find the football… He looks great in the black and gold. He’s really good. He had a great debut last night.”
The first clip Baldinger showed was a great summary of what Wilson can do. He was aggressive downhill, but not aggressive enough to rush into blocks. He flowed with blocks, watched the ball carrier, and found an angle he liked. He cut under the block, punched through the tackle, and penetrated the backfield. His short-zone burst was on full display as he dived the other way to make the tackle. It was a solid play for a rookie against Houston’s first-team offense and RB Dameon Pierce.
The second play showed solid fundamentals. Wilson was in perfect position in the gap, one-on-one with the running back. He dropped his feet, crouched at the hips and tackled Pierce.
As an inside linebacker, you need to be able to weave through traffic. Sometimes you need to keep your outside arm free to block and make a tackle. Other times you need to cut back and make a tackle through a small gap in the offensive line. Wilson showed both of those things in the last two clips. The last clip also shows his ability to use his speed to make plays from sideline to sideline, beating the running back to the edge and then running around the sideline without being able to get extra yards.
Wilson is likely to continue to see plenty of play in the preseason, and if he continues to perform solidly, he could be given a bigger role when the going gets tough.
