Payton Wilson
Payton Wilson
Fills the run lane and blitzes off the edge. This is his third year in the same linebacker corps at NC State. Bednarik in 2023 was the second honor of his career. The receipt on tape: 16 tackles, 1 TFL against Miami, Week 10, 2023.
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
- positional archetype classification
- seasons on the roster
- recognition record
- game log
How it ended
Three seasons at NC State, 218 tackles, a Unanimous All-American season (2023) — drafted at #98 overall by Pittsburgh.
Career Arc
Trophy Case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-AMERICA · UNANIMOUS
Unanimous AA (2023)
Named to 12 first-team selectors
POSITION AWARDS
Bednarik, Butkus
2023 season
ALL-CONFERENCE
All-Conf mention (2023)
All-ACC
Coaching Lineage · 2021–2023
1 coachPlayed his entire career under Dave Doeren.
Where He Ended Up · NFL
PittsburghEntering 3rd NFL season
2025 snapshot
Season context · Team result + system
Splits & context
Supporting Cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Dave Doeren
Awards
Player Standing · 17 rungs
Tier 4 · EliteR14 · Unanimous All-American
Unanimous All-American. First-team on every major selector list.
Recognition
Production
Trophy Case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-AMERICA · UNANIMOUS
Unanimous AA (2023)
Named to 12 first-team selectors
POSITION AWARDS
Bednarik, Butkus
2023 season
ALL-CONFERENCE
All-Conf mention (2023)
All-ACC
Career stats
Signature game
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 9 · 2023
W 24–17
vs Clemson
8 TOT · 2 SOLO · 1 TFL
A wire-to-wire battle — won by 7 at home.
How he plays
Play style
Downhill striker who fills the run lane and blitzes off the edge.
CFB Index positional classification
DNA match
Player DNA
Thumper
Downhill striker who fills the run lane and blitzes off the edge.
His 2023 production profile sits closest to Cedric Gray’s 2023 season.
Matches Cedric on
Differs from Cedric on
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a graduate, his production profile tracks closest to Cedric Gray's graduate season at North Carolina (2023).
Matches Cedric on
Differs from Cedric on