Steelers Might Have Their Answer at LB

The Pittsburgh Steelers may have a long-term solution at inside linebacker.

The entire position group has largely underperformed since the beginning of the 2025 season, with both Patrick Queen and Payton Wilson being the biggest culprits.

That tandem has started to turn things around, however, and while Queen deserves his fair share of credit after how well he played in Pittsburgh's 16-10 Week 7 win over the New Orleans Saints in Paris, it's Wilson who has really taken the reins.

The 2024 second-round pick still isn't a finished product, but he's shown flashes of becoming a star in the middle of the Steelers' defense.

Wilson Was Key to Pittsburgh's Victory vs. Saints

Since training camp, Wilson has turned heads with how he's flown around the field and made plays in Patrick Graham's defense.

That's carried over to the regular season, and the strides he's made as a run defender has been evident as well. Wilson's not exactly polished in that aspect of his game, but it's still a far cry from how he performed in 2024 and 2025.

In a game where Pittsburgh held New Orleans to just 18 yards on 17 rushing attempts, Wilson was consistently around the ball and was paramount to the Steelers' success in shutting down the Saints' ground game.

The 26-year-old's biggest play of the game came in coverage, though. Tyler Shough had been carving up the Steelers' defense through the air, particularly underneath, and drove New Orleans down to Pittsburgh's 10-yard line while trailing 13-10 about halfway through the third quarter.

Wilson put an end to the Saints' 14-play drive, however, by jumping a throw to Chris Olave and returning it to the Steelers' 29-yard line.

New Orleans did not score for the rest of the game, and Wilson's clutch interception is one of the main reasons why Pittsburgh was able to come away with the win at the Stade de France.

Is Wilson Really Becoming a Star for Steelers?

Wilson's deficiencies against the run really held him back over the first two years of his NFL career, during which he was largely viewed as a good coverage linebacker and not much else.

He's ever-so-slightly starting to shift that narrative, though, given how he's improved as a run defender. On the flip side, Wilson has allowed the fourth-most receiving yards (258, per SumerSports) among linebackers with at least 250 snaps this season.

The 26-year-old clearly has the tools to be a well above-average coverage defender, as evidenced by his interception off of Shough, though consistency is a bit of an issue for him as of now.

Furthermore, Wilson's missed tackle rate of 14.9 percent is the 10th-worst amongst linebackers with a minimum of 250 snaps (per SumerSports).

He's grown into an exciting player who's developing into a stronger run defender, and his standout athletic traits for the position provide him with a high ceiling.

Wilson still has to put all of the pieces together, namely in terms of continuing to grow against the run and being more steady in coverage, but there's reasons to believe he could stick around for a prolonged period of time in Pittsburgh.