Steelers Now
PITTSBURGH — Even as he considers himself one of the best coverage linebackers in the game, Payton Wilson hasn’t scratched the surface of his potential. Not even close, fellow Pittsburgh Steelers off-ball linebacker Patrick Queen thinks.
“I think Payton (has) got, like, a certain swagger to him that you just know he’s different,” Queen said Monday after the team’s practice at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. “Once he learns how to have that confidence fully, he’ll know there’s nobody in this league that can mess with him. … The dude, he’s a dog, he’s a competitor and I know he’s gonna bring it out soon.
“I definitely think there’s more. I think there’s another level — maybe two levels — that he could tap into and just be that guy.”
For Queen, it clicked midway through his second year, he said, and making plays more consistently in his job helped him develop the mindset.
Wilson had the second-most tackles of any AFC rookie a campaign ago. Only three teammates had more stops than he did. Wilson wants to remain on the field at all times, just as Queen did last season. Steelers defensive coordinator Teryl Austin is propping Wilson up as he enters his second professional season.
“Confidence plays out in football for anybody,” Austin said. “You can’t go out there and not feel confident in your abilities and what you’re gonna do. Payton does have the ability to cover a lot of people because he’s big, he can run, he can bend. He’s got all the attributes to be an outstanding coverage linebacker.
“If he thinks he’s the best in the world, then I’m gonna encourage it.”
Wilson isn’t fazed after allowing a receiving touchdown during Saturday night’s 17-14 preseason loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He does believe he should make that sort of play “100 out of 100 times.”
“For me, I have a job. They trust me to play man on any back, any tight end in the league and, you know, when they put me out there, I’ve just gotta get it done,” Wilson said. “That’s kind of the standard that I hold to myself.”
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: Queen: Steelers LB Payton Wilson Has Room to Grow
