Payton Wilson NFL Draft 2024: Combine Results, Scouting Report For North Carolina State LB

NFL Transition:

Wilson fits the classic profile of the height/weight/speed LB prospect with his outstanding size and length and play speed and range. He is at his best as a run-and-chase player, maximizing his play speed and range much more than a static stacked box defender tasked with taking on and playing off blocks, which he did not do well in 2023.

Wilson showed an instinctive feel for keeping himself clean, navigating the box to find the ball and make tackles in the run game, and there were significant run game snaps in which he shot gaps and made plays on the offensive side of the ball. A significant concern as you project Wilson to the next level is his lack of play strength and overall physicality, which showed up consistently on tape.

Another question is whether he can match up man-to-man against quality tight ends. His size, length and overall athletic movement would suggest he can, but you did not see that on tape. Wilson is a fascinating evaluation, given he has plus athletic traits, with size, length, play speed and range being critical attributes. Plus, he played multiple positions in North Carolina State's defense.

My sense is Wilson will be projected as a stacked LB; he will not play multiple positions early in his career. While we know he can run and make plays, his ability to be physical in a confined space will be tested at the next level. How he develops in that area will be a significant factor in what he becomes in the NFL.

One player who came to mind as I kept watching Wilson was Pete Werner when he came out of Ohio State with high-level measurables (6'2 ⅞”, 238 pounds with 4.59 40-yard dash and 39 ½” vertical).

OTHER NOTES:

Wilson came out of North Carolina as a 4-star recruit and stayed in-state. He played five years at North Carolina State but missed almost all of the 2021 season with a knee injury.

In 2022, Wilson aligned in different positions in North Carolina State’s defense and was deployed in multiple ways. That included as a pass rusher, blitzing and off the edge and as a coverage defender predominantly in underneath zone.

In 2023, Wilson lined up in multiple positions, including on the ball, and was again deployed as a situational blitzer. There were snaps when Wilson was the post-safety. When North Carolina State went man-to-man, Wilson usually matched up to the running back and green dogged when the back stayed in the backfield as part of the pass protection.