Payton Wilson Earns First Round Grade in the 2024 NFL Draft?

The 2024 NFL Draft is quickly approaching, and North Carolina State (NC State) linebacker Payton Wilson brings a great deal of experience with the kind of leadership skills a team will want on defense.

Wilson was rated a four-star recruit by both ESPN and 247Sports coming out of high school. He eventually committed to NC State over schools like Alabama, Georgia, Notre Dame, and others. Throughout his career (47 games), Wilson racked in 402 tackles (202 solo), 15 sacks, 13 pass breakups (PBU) and seven interceptions.

2023 Summary:

Wilson’s season showcased his sideline-to-sideline ability by racking in 138 tackles with 69 of them being solo. His final season additionally resulted in six sacks, six pass breakups, three interceptions, one forced fumble, and two fumble recoveries. Because of this impressive production, Wilson was declared the ACC Defensive Player of the Year and added the Bednarik and Butkus Awards.

Overview:

6-Foot-4, 233 pounds

Wilson Combine Results

Colton Edwards Grade: First Round

2023 Film Evaluated: Marshall, Notre Dame, UConn and Wake Forest

2024 NFL Draft Scouting Report:

Wilson has a great sideline-to-sideline motor with impressive lateral agility. Excellent speed and acceleration, covering the full field with ease while allowing himself to be dominant in space. Good lower-body flexibility to quickly adjust pursuit angles while keeping speed and maintaining focus on the play. Elite tackler due to his vision, technique, and leverage. Good patience and football instincts to attack correct gaps and lanes against the run. Wilson also has the burst, bend, and agility to stunt, loop around blocks, and tighten rush angles. He displays swivel flexibility while being able to read the quarterback and make plays on the ball. Very good read and reaction skills. Can key on crossing routes over the top or shut down underneath against running backs coming out. His ability to read quarterbacks’ eyes with awareness allows him to dominate in zone coverage. Impressive athlete.

Weaknesses: Adequate length and strength make it harder for him to disengage off offensive line blocks in the run game. Over-aggressiveness can lead to missed tackles or overrunning plays. Lacks playing strength at times which limits his ability to finish when using pass-rush moves. He has an extensive medical history with two torn ACLs and a season-ending shoulder injury in 2021.

Summary:

Wilson brings impressive versatility and athleticism with leadership ability to the defensive side of the ball. He has the burst and bend to threaten the arc and invade gaps when blitzing, and he also has the fluidity, football IQ, awareness, and playmaking ability to lock down second-level routes. With that being said, he is not perfect. But if Wilson can improve his strength and maintain health, he has a long-term starter upside as a dynamic, versatile off-ball linebacker. Overall, he provides a modern skill set to the second level with three-down potential. Wilson’s leadership, motor, and play style will dominate at the next level.

Who will he remind us of?

Former 10-year Dallas Cowboys linebacker Sean Lee

Colton just graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Sports Science at the United States Sports Academy. He has previous coaching experience as a former offense and defensive line coach at a local high school. While performing those duties, he also worked at PFF(Pro Football Focus) for a brief moment of time. He currently develops scouting reports here at firstroundmock.com. He aspires to become an NFL Scout/GM in the future.