Payton Wilson, LB North Carolina State: 2024 NFL Draft Profile

Wilson was a four-star recruit from Orange High School in Hillsborough, N.C. in the class of 2018

Payton Wilson is one of the top linebacker prospects in the 2024 NFL Draft. He had a solid week at the Senior Bowl and could contend for a second round selection, but his injury history will require serious evaluation from NFL teams.

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Payton Wilson, LB North Carolina State: 2024 NFL Draft Profile

Classification: Sixth-year graduate weakside linebacker from Hillsborough, N.C.

Background: Wilson was a four-star recruit from Orange High School in Hillsborough, N.C. in the class of 2018. He was the No. 79 recruit according to 247Sports, No. 166 for Rivals, and No. 68 for On3.com. ESPN ranked him 105th in the nation with an 84 grade out of 100. Wilson originally committed to North Carolina before flipping to North Carolina State. In high school, he totaled 266 tackles, 70 tackles for loss, 24 sacks, and two interceptions across his career. As a senior, he amassed 103 tackles, 21 tackles for loss, ten sacks, a pick-six, two passes defensed, and a fumble recovery. He also carried the ball 67 times for 222 yards and five touchdowns and caught 15 passes for 263 yards and four additional scores. According to MaxPreps, Wilson also completed 13 of 27 pass attempts for 125 yards and returned five punts for 244 yards. As a junior, he tallied 127 tackles, 39 tackles for loss, 13 sacks, an interception, four passes defensed, and a blocked field goal on defense to accompany 84 carries for 756 yards and six touchdowns and 13 receptions for 305 yards and four touchdowns on offense. His sophomore campaign featured 36 tackles, ten tackles for loss, a sack, and a pass defensed. Wilson was a team captain in high school and earned the Raleigh News & Observer’s Player of the Year and the Male Athlete of the Year awards, along with the Big 8 Defensive Player of the Year award. He was invited to the U.S. Army All-American Game. Wilson also played lacrosse and once scored six goals in one game. Additionally, he was a state wrestling champion. His brother, Bryse, is a pitcher for the Milwaukee Brewers. Wilson graduated from North Carolina State with a degree in education in December of 2022.

Injuries & Off-Field: Missed 2018 spring practices rehabbing a torn ACL from high school, 2018 ACL injury in the summer forced him to redshirt, left 2019 Clemson game early and missed Louisville game, surgeries on both shoulders in 2021 caused him to miss spring workouts, suffered 2021 season-ending shoulder injury vs. Mississippi State, missed 2022 spring practice rehabbing from surgery, played several games with a knee brace in 2023

Awards: 2020 First Team All-ACC, 2022 Honorable Mention All-ACC, 2023 First Team All-ACC, 2023 First Team All-American, 2023 Team Captain, 2023 ACC Defensive Player of the Year, 2023 Butkus Award Winner, 2023 Bednarik Award Winner

Pros: Special teams experience on the kick coverage, punt return, punt coverage, field goal block units, zero penalties committed in 2023, plays with his hair on fire, motor runs hot, sturdy frame with experience absorbing contact as a pass rusher, speed to cross the tackle’s face into the A-gap as a blitzer, active and quick hands, hand usage when rushing passer, some dip and bend as a rusher, speed flying off the edge to run around linemen, still an explosive athlete, straight line speed, acceleration, closing burst, flows laterally to the ball, sideline-to-sideline range, excellent pursuit range, ideal traits to spy mobile quarterbacks, keeps head moving to stay aware of surroundings, great and recognizing and firing through lanes to the football, wrap-up form tackler with limited misses, quick to redirect from RB or TE blocks to the ball, agility and quickness to evade blockers, reads the QB’s eyes in zone over the MOF, athletic traits to improve coverage menu

Cons: Age, injury history, upper body strength and bulk could improve, brain thinks faster than his feet can react, several instances of losing footing, takes some time to halt momentum and redirect, drawn downhill by action in the backfield, overruns some plays in pursuit, not a power player in the run game, lacks the power to play through offensive linemen, sealed by climbing linemen, displaced by climbing linemen, struggles to make linemen miss when they climb into his lap, transitions in coverage are high, needs to gain more depth in zone coverages, awareness of pass catchers behind him in zone, doesn’t trust his own athleticism in man coverage, allows plenty of separation in man coverage, poor man coverage angles, grabby in man coverage, instances of being out-leveraged and stacked on wheel routes, out-leveraged in coverage up the seam, limited reps kicked out over slot receiving options

Overview: Wilson is an older prospect who primarily aligned at weakside linebacker, MIKE, and 5-tech for North Carolina State in 2023. He also took occasional snaps in the slot. His special teams experience includes snaps on the kick coverage, punt return, punt coverage, and field goal block units. Wilson plays with his hair on fire. That mentality really stood out on his tape and will endear him to NFL coaching staffs. The Wolfpack allowed Wilson to rush the passer a lot this past season. He has a sturdy frame with experience absorbing and dispersing contact as a pass rusher. Wilson’s speed helps him cross the tackle’s face into the A-gap as a blitzer. His active and quick hands are assets when combating linemen. The sixth-year linebacker showcases some dip and bend as a rusher, but he primarily wins with his speed around the edge. Despite his many injuries, including a history of torn ACLs, Wilson is still an explosive athlete with elite straight line speed and impressive acceleration and closing burst. He appeared on Bruce Feldman’s Freaks List for The Athletic this past summer. According to Feldman, Wilson runs a 4.49 40-yard dash and a 4.21 20-yard shuttle. He also bench presses 390 lbs. and jumps 35 1/2 inches in the vertical and 9' 8 1/2" in the broad. Wilson flows laterally to the ball with his sideline-to-sideline range. His athletic traits make him an ideal candidate to spy mobile quarterbacks. The North Carolina native keeps his head on a swivel to stay aware of his surroundings at the second level. He quickly recognizes and fires through lanes to the football. Wilson is a wrap-up form tackler who rarely misses. He quickly redirects from running back or tight end blocks to pursue the football. Wilson has the agility and quickness to evade blockers in the run game. In coverage, he reads the quarterback’s eyes from a zone role over the middle of the field. He wasn’t tasked with a diverse coverage role in college but has the athletic traits to take on more responsibilities in the NFL. However, Wilson hasn’t shown much of a natural feel in coverage. His transitions are high, and he often doesn’t gain enough depth in zone coverages. Wilson’s awareness of pass catchers outside his cone of vision is limited. He doesn’t trust his own athleticism in man coverage, which leads to him grabbing pass catchers frequently. The All-American takes poor angles in man coverage, which contributes to him allowing too much separation. There are instances of him being stacked on wheel routes and out-leveraged up the seam by tight ends. Wilson does not project as a high-usage slot defender in the NFL. The former four-star recruit is an older prospect with a lengthy injury history. Despite his extended stay in college, Wilson still needs to add more mass to his upper body to help with block shedding. His brain processes plays quicker than he can react, which leads to him losing his footing at times as he attempts to halt his momentum and redirect. Play action draws Wilson downfield and opens throwing lanes over his head. He is guilty of overrunning plays in pursuit. Wilson lacks the power element in his game needed to contend with climbing offensive linemen. Offensive linemen who get into his lap displace or seal him.

Overall, Wilson is a veteran college linebacker with leadership traits, a terrific motor, and elite athletic abilities, but his injury history and limited role in coverage prevent him from earning an elite prospect grade. Wilson needs to become more technically advanced and stronger when deconstructing blocks. Advancing in that area and taking on a greater variety of coverage assignments will do wonders for his profile.

Role & Scheme Fit: Weakside linebacker in a 4-3 scheme

Round Projection: Mid Second to Early Third

Size: 6041, 234 lbs. (Senior Bowl)

Submitted: 02-06-24