When the Pittsburgh Steelers were on the clock for their second third-round pick, they turned the card in for NC State LB Payton Wilson. A number of people were surprised that the reigning Dick Butkus Award winner and All-American linebacker was still there. After all, he wasn’t an undersized player or someone coming from a small FCS school. Were the medicals so bad that teams viewed him as untouchable?
When general manager Omar Khan and head coach Mike Tomlin held their post-draft press conference, Tomlin was asked about Wilson being on the board that late in the draft.