Payton Wilson's got what he'll casually call a "bum knee," one that's either entirely or largely missing an anterior cruciate ligament.
He's also got no evidence, nor any apparent worries that it'll ever affect him.
“I’ve talked to them here,” the Steelers' third-round inside linebacker in the recent NFL Draft, was recalling Friday at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex upon the opening of rookie minicamp. He was referring to the team's medical people. "They say that, because I’ve had a revision on my ACL that the graft, it just looks a little different. I definitely have a ... something in there. I would’t be able to run and cut the way I do or move the way I do. So, a lot of it's just hearsay. But at the end of the day, I’ve been playing for five or six years just perfectly fine.”
Right, yeah, there's that.
Not going to lie here: I love this story as much as any I've covered in recent drafts, and I strongly suspect we haven't even flipped the first page on the most meaningful chapters.
It took root in his scholastic years and his first year of college with an estimated total of eight surgeries on his shoulder/knee -- he can't remember exactly -- before he'd embark on an extraordinary career at North Carolina State that'd see him, in 2023, recognized as the best linebacker in college football through the Butkus Award, and the best defender at any position in college football through the Bednarik Award.
Doing dynamic stuff like this, no less:
— DK Pittsburgh Sports (@DKPSmedia) May 6, 2024
That pursuit's been timed at 23.7 mph. And while there are countless mitigating circumstances in any comparisons, the fastest recorded time by a human in the Olympic 100 meters, the races universally regarded as determining the fastest man and woman on the planet, was Usain Bolt's 23.34 mph in 2009.
Uh-huh.
Resuming Wilson's story, next came the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis two months ago, where the examinations become as ramped up as the athletic competition. It was there that doctors determined that he'd been achieving all of the above without a functional ACL.
Which was news even to him, as he'd acknowledge here: “When I went to the Combine, that was the first time that I’d heard of it."
And what's it mean to him now? Or his career?
"I really don’t have a clue. I haven’t had problems with my knee since 2018. I mean, I’ve been blowin' and goin' for a long time now with what they call a bum knee. In my head, I’ve been playing like this for so long, it doesn’t bother me. My knees don’t bother me. I’m not gonna have a problem with it.”
Others, it's safe to say, did. He'd nosedive all the way to 98th overall in the draft. The Steelers passed on him three times themselves.
I asked how that must've felt, given the collegiate career he'd just completed.
"Yeah, I mean, for me, I'm super religious," he'd reply. "I believe Jesus Christ has his hand on my life. And, you know, I believe I ended up here for a reason. I mean, this is an amazing place to be, especially for a linebacker and play under Coach Tomlin and to be coached by Aaron Curry, who was a first-round draft pick and one of the best in the business."
Mike Tomlin, of course. And Curry coaches the inside linebackers.
"So I truly believe that I ended up here for a reason. I'm excited for it."
Good for him. Potentially great for the Steelers.
No, really. It's been seven years since Ryan Shazier's injury, and it's no coincidence that it's been that long since they've deployed a modern-type inside linebacker as capable in coverage as in run stuffing. But now, between the Patrick Queen acquisition, Elandon Roberts' welcome return and maybe the same for Cole Holcomb, adding Wilson, a pure off-ball backer, could finally restore this as a position of strength, if not towering strength.
It's tough to even fathom that anymore, huh?
Well, fathom away. Because if this kid's knee keeps playing along, according to experts everywhere under the football sun, he'll be both the steal of the draft and the centerpiece of this defense, quite literally in the middle of it all, for the decade to come.
Not that he's getting ahead of anything, as I'd scope out:
"I mean, I'm not gonna throw anything out there," he'd reply. "I think for me, it's just being the best version of myself. I'm a super-confident person, and I believe in my talent. So it's just about continuing to work and get better and help this team win a Super Bowl."
If that sounds to a cynic like false modesty, consider that, on this day, these rookies' first in uniform alongside 42 of their peers, Wilson went from calling the defensive signals -- loudly and authoritatively -- to staring intently at Danny Smith through all special teams instruction to -- this was my favorite -- when the session ended and he began leaving the field with everyone else, he noticed two players were still standing with Smith on the field, so he sprinted back out for more.
As for any visible issues with the knee:
ILB Payton Wilson moving pretty well for a guy lacking an ACL. pic.twitter.com/TCxK0eTcK3
— Mike Prisuta (@DVEMike) May 10, 2024
“My love for the game has grown so much because it’s been taken away from me," Wilson would say. "I’ll literally do anything in the world to be on that field, whether that’s maintenance, whether that’s fighting through stuff. I’ve definitely had some injuries, but I just come back stronger, better and faster every time. I love this game so much, and I want to honor Jesus Christ by being the best person that I can possibly be and taking these talents as far as I can.”
• Loved seeing Troy Fautanu aligned at right tackle here. As I've been putting forth since his drafting, now's the time to put everyone where they'll go. Omar Khan says Broderick Jones will eventually wind up on the left side, so step on that pedal. This line's going to be young enough as it is that there's no time to waste reps.
• To that subject, I asked Zach Frazier, the presumed starting center, what it'll be like to have so many baby-faces on the line, and the response was terrific: "We'll come in here and learn from the older players while working to be the best versions of ourselves."
• This event doesn't come close to lending itself to who-looked-good type of analysis. It's football in shorts, as Tomlin will forever and fairly downplay it. All I've got on this front's that Roman Wilson's got some hops. Can really move, both forward and laterally. Looks like he'll turn in the air at times.
• All I wanted to see from Arthur Smith in his first official capacity as offensive coordinator ... was to hear him. And I did. He was active, right in players' faces from a positivity/instructional standpoint, and vocal. I swear, I can't remember Matt Canada speaking so much as a syllable in these settings.
• Nothing about the Smith offense was visible. All vanilla. Maybe next camp.
• Best overheard Tomlin-ism of the day: "Catch it with your eyes!" A loud admonishment after he witnessed a couple drops on punt returns.
• Tons more coverage from Day 1 of rookie minicamp on our Steelers Feed from Amanda Filipcic-Godsey and Corey Crisan.
• I've also got another new column up in advance of the Paul Skenes debut Saturday afternoon.
• Thanks for reading!
