Payton Wilson has all the tools. He\u2019s never been short on talent. He just needed to flip the switch from dimly lit to all the way on. Since the pads have come on, Wilson\u2019s light is shining bright.<\/p>\n
Wilson\u2019s a remarkable athlete. His sideline-to-sideline range allows him to rack up more tackles by the dozen. Or, when needed, track down wide receivers<\/a> far downfield. His effort is aces. He plays hard and works at his craft. Travis Homer may have him beat<\/a> as the daily \u201cfirst person at practice,\u201d but Wilson is always putting in the extra work.<\/p>\n His issue has been coming downhill and throwing his weight around. Wilson is tall, has short arms, and previously, hadn\u2019t shown an aggressive enough mentality. In his first and second years, he didn\u2019t trust what he saw.<\/p>\n Wilson no longer looks like that guy. During Tuesday and Thursday\u2019s padded practice, he\u2019s been a menace against the run. Downhill, physical, getting off blocks, and making stops. Fullback Riley Nowakowski admitted<\/a> Wilson put him in the ground during one play. On another, Wilson filled the gap, made the stop, and walked away with the play with a little swag in his step. He also mixed it up with WR Ben Skowronek, needling him on a hot day where practice got chippy.<\/a><\/p>\n It\u2019s small, but they\u2019re moments that didn\u2019t show up a year ago.<\/p>\n