Pittsburgh Steelers · LB · 8 games through Nov 1, 2026 · NC State (2024 Round 3, Pick 98)

Payton Wilson

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84.6

Downfield Score v7.0Ranked #8 of 156 qualified LBs

Combined tackles: 6735 solo · 32 ast
Sacks & QB hits: 12 QB hits
Tackles for loss: 70 forced fumbles
Coverage: 3 PD · 1 INTPasses defended & picks
Defensive snaps: 43954.9 snaps/G
Team def. EPA / play: −0.049Schedule-adjusted · What is EPA?

Payton Wilson among the 156 qualified linebackers: each 2026 Downfield Score, 0 to 100.

Singleton93.8
Cashman93.8
Jones92.4
Dean89.5
Warner89.2
Trotter87.8
Smith86.4
Wilson84.6
Edmunds84.5
Reese84.2

146 more scored linebackers

Downfield Score v7.0 breakdown

Each component is shrunk toward the 2026 positional mean before percentile ranking across 156 qualified LBs. Read score check & methodology · What Raw and Shrunk mean

Defensive snaps per team game, regressed8% weight · Raw 0.90 → Shrunk 45.77

86thpercentile

Tackles per game32% weight · Raw 0.14 → Shrunk 7.66

92thpercentile

Weighted defensive disruption per game14% weight · Raw 0.17 → Shrunk 9.27

89thpercentile

Combined tackle rate, regressed18% weight · Raw 13.8% → Shrunk 12.6%

92thpercentile

Solo tackle rate, regressed10% weight · Raw 7.2% → Shrunk 6.3%

94thpercentile

Pass-rush disruption rate, regressed10% weight · Raw 0.9% → Shrunk 1.0%

36thpercentile

Coverage disruption rate, regressed4% weight · Raw 1.3% → Shrunk 0.8%

88thpercentile

Schedule-adjusted team defensive EPA / play, regressed4% weight · Raw −0.049 → Shrunk −0.013

68thpercentile

2026 game log

Every 2026 regular-season game line for Payton Wilson. Click any game to open its drive-by-drive chart and box score.

Week	Date	Matchup	Result	Tackles	Solo	Sacks	TFL	QB hits	PD	INT	Def. snaps
Week 1	Sep 13, 2026	vs ATL	W 20-13	13	5	0	2	0	0	0	57
Week 2	Sep 20, 2026	@ NE	L 3-20	6	4	0	1	0	0	0	43
Week 3	Sep 27, 2026	vs CIN	W 30-27	6	0	0	0	0	1	0	40
Week 4	Oct 1, 2026	@ CLE	L 24-27	9	7	1	1	1	0	0	52
Week 5	Oct 11, 2026	vs IND	W 34-22	8	6	0	2	1	1	0	63
Week 6	Oct 18, 2026	@ TB	W 26-19	11	7	0	0	0	0	0	68
Week 7	Oct 25, 2026	@ NO	W 16-10	6	3	0	0	0	1	1	52
Week 8	Nov 1, 2026	vs CLE	W 27-6	8	3	0	1	0	0	0	64

College to the NFL: NC State to Pittsburgh Steelers

Verified identity bridge linking Payton Wilson's college regular-season tackles at NC State to official NFL game lines.

NC State (College tackles)

692019

1082020

52021

732022

1382023

9898th pick
2024 Draft

PIT (NFL tackles)

732024

1252025

672026 *

Open Payton Wilson's college development chapters in Downfield

Career NFL seasons

Regular-season totals from official NFL game lines across 3 seasons.

Season	Club	G	Tackles	Solo	Ast	Sacks	TFL	QBH	PD	INT	FF	Def. snaps
2024	PIT	17	73	44	29	0	3	2	2	1	1	492
2025	PIT	17	125	73	52	2	6	4	2	1	0	732
2026 (so far)	PIT	8	67	35	32	1	7	2	3	1	0	439

Compare Payton Wilson with top linebackers

Launch a head-to-head Tale of the Tape against another 2026 LB.

Payton Wilson vs. Alex Singleton (DEN)Score 84.6 vs. 93.8 Payton Wilson vs. Blake Cashman (MIN)Score 84.6 vs. 93.8 Payton Wilson vs. Ernest Jones (SEA)Score 84.6 vs. 92.4 Payton Wilson vs. Nakobe Dean (LV)Score 84.6 vs. 89.5 Payton Wilson vs. Fred Warner (SF)Score 84.6 vs. 89.2 Payton Wilson vs. Josiah Trotter (TB)Score 84.6 vs. 87.8