Best rookie sleeper for the Steelers to have an effect on the 2024 NFL season
Five of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ seven 2024 NFL Draft selections have already signed contracts. First-round pick Troy Fautanu, ranked No. 20 overall, and second-round pick Zach Frazier, ranked No. 51, are the only ones who have not yet signed.
The Steelers are hopeful that all seven rookies—five of whom are undrafted free agents—will be able to contribute to the team in 2024, when head coach Mike Tomlin will be holding a lot of stakes.
Although it has been put to the test in recent years, Tomlin has never had a losing season in his 17 seasons as manager. Many believe Tomlin may be headed out of Pittsburgh if and when that record is broken. However, whether or not it’s a winning season.
Had Joe Burrow not had a wrist injury that ended the season, the Steelers might not have finished with 10 wins and an AFC wild card place. Due to Burrow’s absence, the Steelers finished the previous season with three straight victories and a postseason berth after sweeping the Bengals.
But the Steelers expect that this season will look very different from the last. The acquisition of Justin Fields and the signing of Russell Wilson resulted in a significant overhaul of the quarterback room. The squad also added Patrick Queen, one of the best pass rushers from the previous season, through free agency.
Queen is definitely one of the prize picks out of free agency, but who he could be paired with this upcoming season is a player that could be considered the sleeper pick for the Steelers from the draft: former NC State linebacker Payton Wilson.
Payton Wilson could make an immediate impact for the Steelers in 2024
Payton Wilson, the Steelers’ third-round, No. 98 overall pick, entered the 2024 NFL Draft with a ton of question marks attached to him. It had nothing to do with his play, however; it had everything to do with his extensive, albeit somewhat unusual, injury history.
From Wilson’s senior year to his first summer training camp at NC State, the linebacker tore not one but both of his ACLs. In fact, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported during draft night that one of Wilson’s knees doesn’t have an intact ACL. The rookie has since disputed that claim, per The Athletic. Nevertheless, that alone has to be overly concerning for the Steelers.
But then in his redshirt sophomore season, Wilson suffered a season-ending shoulder injury in just the second game of the 2021 season.
Not that all of that was overlooked by the Steelers, but looking at Wilson’s production when he was on the field made them take a chance on the linebacker while others were sleeping on him. In Wilson’s five seasons and 45 games, he was a tackling machine.
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