Could Payton Wilson be groomed as Bobby Wagner’s successor?

Hogs Haven takes a look at 2024 NFL Draft prospects that could contribute to the Commanders

Payton Wilson, LB
School: NC State | Conference: ACC
College Experience: Senior | Age: 23
Height / Weight: 6’4” / 233 lbs
Projected Draft Status: Rounds 2-3

Player Comp: Leighton Vander Esch

College Statistics

Player Overview

Payton Wilson is one of the more intriguing prospects in the 2024 draft, having experienced significant adversity in his college career, and persevering through it to have one of the most impressive linebacking campaigns in recent memory.

Wilson tore his ACL as a sophomore, in 2020, and then injured his left shoulder in 2021, but bounced back in 2022 and 2023 with two excellent campaigns, collecting 10.5 sacks, 4 interceptions, and 30 tackles for a loss over that period.

In 2023, Wilson won both the Bednarik Award (for the best defensive player in college) and the Butkus Award (for the best linebacker).

As a former all-state wrestler, Wilson is effective tackler in the open field, also possessing the ability to be effective in coverage. His stellar Combine performance has put him squarely into the conversation about the potential best LB prospect in the draft.

According to analyst Field Yates:

“Payton Wilson is a maniac on the football field,” Yates told TheWolfpacker.com on Thursday afternoon. “He’s one of the most fearless players that I’ve seen in the entire draft. He’ll hit anything. He will hit an oncoming train if he could.”

Strengths

• Has great sideline-to-sideline range.
• One of the fastest LBs in his class.
• Strong processing ability, which combined with his speed, allows him to constantly be around the ball.
• Ideal size for a linebacker.
• Can be used reliably as a pass-rushing option when necessary.

Weaknesses

• Needs to continue to enhance play strength in order to be able to shed blocks.
• Can be overly aggressive in pursuit at times.
• Has potential injury history concerns (two torn ACLs and a shoulder injury).
• Older prospect (will be 24 by the 2024 season).

Let’s See His Work

How He Would Fit

Washington has wandered the linebacker wilderness for a very long time, a reality exacerbated by the fact that the team had two former linebackers in key coaching roles for the past four years. In the last month, Adam Peters has gone a long way in correcting that issue by adding Frankie Luvu and Bobby Wagner, but Wagner is only on a 1-year deal, and Jamin Davis is a free agent next offseason.

Drafting a linebacker or two this year, particularly one with plus upside like Wilson, could put the team on a sustainable trajectory at the position going forward, and bring the rookie into a situation where he’s not forced to produce on defense right away. Wilson possesses the ability to develop into a three-down linebacker, eventually taking over MIKE responsibilities from Wagner and becoming an eventual captain of the defense.