Wilson’s love for the game never faltered

Driven, talented, productive and instinctive.

Those are just a few of the words used to describe linebacker Payton Wilson.

But those attributes don’t even begin to tell the story of Wilson, a third-round draft pick of the Steelers out of North Carolina State.

No matter where he’s been at and who he’s played against, Wilson has always been the best player on the field – or at least in that conversation.

And yet, Wilson was forced to wait until the 98th pick in this year’s NFL Draft to hear his name called.

A unanimous All-American, ACC Defensive Player of the Year, Bednarik Award winner as the nation’s best defender and Butkus winner as college football’s best linebacker, Wilson was coming off a season in which he had 138 tackles, including 17 for a loss, six sacks, nine pass defenses and three interceptions. He then tore up the NFL Scouting Combine, running a 4.43-second 40-yard dash, the fastest time of any linebacker who ran in Indianapolis. Then, at his pro day, Wilson ran a 4.20-second short shuttle – the fastest for a linebacker at the Combine was 4.23 seconds – and a 6.85-second three-cone drill that would have been just outside the top-10 at the Combine regardless of position.

And he did it all at 6-foot-4 and 242 pounds.

“He’s one of the most elite competitive spirits I’ve ever coached,” North Carolina State head coach Dave Dorean said of Wilson. “He’s a warrior.”

So, why was Wilson the sixth linebacker selected in this year’s draft?

Rumors in the weeks leading up to the draft claimed that Wilson was missing an ACL in his knee, something the linebacker feels just isn’t correct.

“I really don’t have a clue,” Wilson said about where that rumor came from. “When I went to the Combine, that was the first time I heard of it. I haven’t had problems with my knees since 2018. I’ve been playing a long time on what they call the bum knee. I’ve been playing like this for so long, like it doesn’t…