Rookie 3rd Round linebacker Payton Wilson made his NFL debut for the Steelers on Friday night against the Houston Texans, and the results were stellar. Wilson finished with a team-leading seven tackles, including one for loss, provided solid pass coverage and displayed great instincts in his first action against an NFL opponent. It’s too early to draw any definitive conclusions on Wilson, but the early returns are exciting.

On Houston’s first play on offense, Wilson knifed underneath a reach block from the right tackle to drop running back Dameon Pierce for a loss. On the next play, Wilson switched off nicely with cornerback Joey Porter Jr. on a combination route by the Texans, forcing quarterback C.J. Stroud into a hurried throw to the opposite side of the field. That drive for the Texans ended in a punt.

Wilson continued to make an impact on the following drive. On 1st down, he executed a twist stunt with edge rusher Nick Herbig to again stuff Pierce. On 2nd down, he avoided being faked out on a naked bootleg from Stroud, stayed with tight end Dalton Schultz in coverage and helped force a throwaway from Stroud. Stroud responded by throwing a touchdown pass to Tank Dell on the next play. Still, on Houston’s first two drives, they tested Wilson four times. Wilson got the better of each encounter.

Wilson’s solid play continued throughout the first half, as he racked up tackles and played well in coverage. On one 3rd down play, Wilson was used as the deep middle defender in a Tampa-2 look from the Steelers, where he took away a seam route that forced quarterback Davis Mills to hold the football long enough for Montravius Adams to bring him down for a sack. Wilson’s football I.Q. appears high, which should allow the Steelers to use him in a variety of ways. And his ability to diagnose plays and find seams to the football belies his inexperience. Many evaluators believed Wilson was a 1st Round talent who fell in the draft because of various injuries he suffered at North Carolina State. On Friday night, he certainly looked like a player who could have gone in Round One.

For my film room breakdown on Wilson’s performance against Houston, check out the video from our SCN YouTube channel below, or by clicking HERE: