Payton Wilson scouting report: Exploring the N.C. State LB's strengths and weaknesses

A former standout lacrosse player and state champion wrestler, Payton Wilson was a top 100 overall recruit in the 2018 class and immediately led the team in total tackles his first year of action (2019).

He suffered a season-ending shoulder injury in the second game of 2021, but he’s been a consistent contributor throughout his time with the Wolfpack, combining for 264 total tackles, 30.5 of those for loss, 9.5 sacks, four passes intercepted and seven more broken up, across 34 career games (first-team All-ACC in 2020).

This past season, Payton Wilson received national recognition, being named ACC Defensive Player of the Year, a unanimous All-American, and winning the Dick Butkus and Chuck Bednarik awards.

Details: 6-foot-4, 235 pounds; RS SR.

Breaking down Payton Wilson's scouting report

Payton Wilson #11 of the North Carolina State Wolfpack sacks Taulia Tagovailoa #3 of the Maryland Terrapins

Strengths

Run defense

• Payton Wilson is an old-school linebacker with new-school athletic traits, who plays with his hair on fire at all times.
• Patiently shuffles along as he tracks the back in the zone run game and understands when it’s time to flip and go parallel to the line of scrimmage, in order to meet that guy at the point where he’ll cut upfield.
• His ability to stop that momentum and fall back a gap as he sees backs cut up on wide zone also leads to early stops when it initially looks like there’ll be a lane.
• He quickly gets into a downhill shuffle and accelerates into a puller when offenses run at him, in order to create traffic in the backfield.
• Has a knack for sorting through the trash and getting to the ball ultimately – finished second in the FBS last season with 67 run stuffs, according to PFF.
• Uses his hands pro-actively to punch off and swipe away linemen trying to latch inside his frame on the move.
• You like Payton Wilson's profile as somebody who can drop down to the end of the line of scrimmage and set a physical edge against tight ends in certain fronts.
• Takes great angles out towards the sideline, in order to avoid explosive plays for the offense.

Coverage

• Payton Wilson was regularly deployed as a hybrid outside linebacker – particularly on the weak side – where he dropped out into the flats and muddied reads for the quarterback.
• Easy wheels to match the back converting to a secondary route, after flaring out his way initially.
• Fully capable of taking man-responsibilities against RBs and TEs, along with following them out to the slot.
• The amount of tackles he gets involved in when plays are designed away from him becomes almost too many to note, where you see him chase quarterbacks on bootlegs away from him for like five-yard gains.
• Brings that absolutely insane hustle, where you see a play develop for a long time and all of a sudden the guy with the ball gets run down by #11 seemingly out of nowhere.
• Earned an elite coverage grade (90.4) from Pro Football Focus.
• Dropped down his missed-tackle rate in 2022 (8.4%), when he missed just six of 72 attempts – that got even better this past season, when he missed just six of 129 total attempts (4.7%).

Blitzing

• You see Payton Wilson reduce the near-shoulder and work tightly around blockers quite a bit as a blitzer.
• Has more suddenness than you see from most off-ball guys, being able to threaten one-way and cross-face blockers in impressive fashion, paired with a well-timed swipe-down.
• Realizes opportunities to convert into blitzes, as he sees the offense set up play-action with him being responsible for the back, as well as swatting down away the hands of tight-ends staying in protection and getting around the corner.
• Racked up 29 total pressures across just 132 pass-rush snaps in 2022 and was close to that production last season (22 on 151 opportunities).
• Does a great job of recognizing opportunities to get his hands up and either knock down passes or affect the throwing lane for quarterbacks.
• Earned an 84.1 PFF grade when aligned on the line of scrimmage.
• Ran the fastest 40 of any front-seven defenders at this year’s combine (4.43) at 233 pounds, looked great changing directions without any delay despite that longer build and caught the ball well despite not wearing gloves.

Weaknesses

• The big issue with Payton Wilson of course is his extensive injury history, with two torn ACLs and a season-ending shoulder surgery across five years in Raleigh.
• More of a lean, narrow frame and when blockers do catch him on an angle, he has issues trying to hold his ground and gets ridden off track (significantly).
• Struggles to keep his frame clean and maintain vision on the ball carrier when he has to deal with blockers leading up into the hole.
• Playing fairly tall in coverage hinders Wilson’s ability to change direction as a zone defender – looked improved during his positional workout at the combine.
• Drifts too deep at times and allows easy yardage underneath, as a flat-dropper in particular.

Payton Wilson's 2024 NFL Draft projection

Payton Wilson #11 of the NC State Wolfpack tackles Omarion Hampton #28 of the North Carolina Tar Heels

Readers through the years will know that I can’t truly take medical reports into account for my grading since I don’t have the necessary information. At this point, it’s possible that Payton Wilson will end up being the first linebacker off the board or not get a call until some time on the day.

With that being said, from everything I’ve heard coming out of the combine, NFL teams seem to believe his injuries are behind him and while they will reflect on his place along big boards, his tape screams LB1.

Not that there aren’t any issues, considering some of the issues winning the leverage battle and optimizing what he can do in coverage with that lanky build, along with arguably not having a defined position yet. However, his athletic tools, football IQ and passion should allow him to be a valuable asset for any style of defensive front.

Payton Wilson finished top-three among all FBS linebackers in both run stop percentage (16.3%) and coverage stops (20) (according to Pro Football Focus), while having an extensive and productive sample size rushing the passer from different angles. If he can find long-term health, he has stat-sheet-filling Pro Bowl potential, particularly with a creative play-caller who’ll tap into his versatility.

Payton Wilson Grade: Top 50.

You might like other LB scout reports: Edgerrin Cooper; Tommy Eichenberg; Trevin Wallace; Nathaniel Watson; Jaylan Ford.