Steelers Now
PITTSBURGH — One of the most unexpected departures of the 2025 offseason for the Pittsburgh Steelers was popular, hard-hitting linebacker Elandon Roberts, who ended up leaving in free agency to sign with the Las Vegas Raiders.
Roberts signed in Vegas after the Steelers preemptively added his replacement, by adding Malik Harrison from the Baltimore Ravens on a two-year, $10 million contract.
Roberts started 14 games for the Steelers last season, playing 478 snaps, mostly on first and second downs as a powerful run-stopper. Behind him, rookie Payton Wilson played 492 snaps, mostly in passing situations as a coverage specialist.
So with Roberts gone and the 6-foot-3, 255-pound Harrison in the fold — even down to wearing Roberts’ old No. 50 — it looked like a 1-to-1 replacement.
Wilson has had some other ideas about that.
The team’s third-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, Wilson has set out to prove that he can be a three-down player at the NFL level, and so far, the Steelers seem to be on board with that plan. Wilson has been the team’s primary starter alongside Patrick Queen throughout all of the spring practice sessions.
“I think I’ve gotten a lot better in the run game and understanding NFL run schemes,” Wilson said after the team’s final minicamp practice on Thursday. “Last year, we had E-Rob, and me and him were complete opposites in a sense, so when it was big run downs, obviously, they wanted E-Rob in. I’m just excited to show that I can play every down, whether that’s Dime, second down or 4th and 1 at the 1-yard line. I just want to be out there every snap.”
Part of what made Roberts a successful run-stuffer was his stature. Three inches shorter than Wilson, he weighed in at just four pounds lighter. But it wasn’t just the mass that he was accelerating toward the line of scrimmage that made him a special run stopper, and new Steelers linebackers coach Scott McCurley thinks that Wilson can also become elite in that area of the game, despite his lanky stature.
“It’s understanding, it’s experience and awareness in the run game as much as anything,” McCurley said. “I like his size. I think he’s a strong player. It’s just getting that experience in the run game, understanding where his fits are, the looks from the offense, how they’re going to block him. … He’s getting there. You talk about a guy who works at it. He understands how he wants to take the next step.”
The real test won’t come until the pads go on in Latrobe, but so far, so good for Wilson in looking to lock down a starting linebacker role.
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