Pack Pros: LB Payton Wilson makes NFL playoff debut

For much of the 2024 campaign, NC State Pack Pro linebacker Payton Wilson has flown around the field during his rookie season with the Pittsburgh Steelers. That remained true in his NFL playoff debut against the arch rival Baltimore Ravens on Saturday night. 

Wilson, who was coming off a career-best 10 tackle effort in Week 18, added six total stops in the 28-14 loss to the Ravens. He was fourth on the team in tackles, even though he logged just 43 total snaps in the loss. 

The Hillsborough, N.C., native capped a successful rookie season that featured 78 total tackles with an interception as he appeared in every game for the Steelers. Wilson finished his debut season as Pro Football Focus’ 28th-ranked linebacker in the league, the fourth-best of any rookie in the NFL. 

Wilson was also named an NFL All-Rookie selection by CBS Sports, Fox Sports, PFF and The Athletic. 

“Wilson had a terrific year, too, defending the run, dropping in coverage and blitzing the pocket,” The Athletic’s Dane Brugler wrote. “Most importantly, he stayed healthy for all 17 regular-season games and was one of the Steelers’ best coverage players on kicks and punts (300 special-teams snaps).”

While Wilson was back in action to round out his rookie season, he wasn’t the only Pack Pro to have a standout year in the NFL. Here’s a look at how every former NC State player did in the NFL this season, and those that are still playing in the playoffs.

Pack Pros in the NFL: Wild Card Weekend

C Garrett Bradbury (played at NC State from 2015-18), #56 Minnesota Vikings: Bradbury and the Vikings will play the Los Angeles Rams on Monday Night in Glendale, Ariz.

QB Jacoby Brissett (2014-15), #14 New England Patriots: Brissett was 95-of-161 passing for 826 yards with two touchdowns and an interception in eight games played. He was sacked 18 times and had a long of 50 yards while he split time with rookie quarterback Drake Maye.

OLB Bradley Chubb (2014-17), #2 Miami Dolphins: Chubb is on the Dolphins’ injured reserve. He did not play in a game this season.

P A.J. Cole III (2015-18), #6 Las Vegas Raiders: Cole logged 65 total punts for 3,304 yards with eight touchbacks and 27 attempts inside the 20-yard line. He logged an average of 50.8 yards per boot in his sixth NFL season. 

DT Cory Durden (2021-22), #98 Los Angeles Rams:.Durden is on the Rams’ practice squad. 

OT Ikem Ekwonu (2019-21), #79 Carolina Panthers: Ekwonu played 909 total snaps for the Panthers this season at left tackle. He allowed 39 total quarterback pressures, including 27 hurries, five quarterback hits and seven sacks, according to Pro Football Focus. Ekwonu was awarded his highest overall PFF grade of his three-year career with a 71.7 mark, including an 80.5 grade as a run blocker. 

P Trenton Gill (2018-21) #47 Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Gill appeared in eight games for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He logged 27 punts for 1,169 yards, an average of 43.3 yards per attempt. Gill logged one touchback with nine punts inside the 20-yard line.

WR Kelvin Harmon (2016-18), #84 Dallas Cowboys: Harmon was on the Cowboys’ practice squad and did not appear in a game.

DL B.J. Hill Jr. (2014-17), #92 Cincinnati Bengals: Hill recorded 56 total tackles, including 25 solo stops, in 15 games played this season. He logged three sacks with four passes defended for the Bengals. 

RB Nyheim Hines (2015-17), #22 Cleveland Browns: Hines did not play this season as he recovers from a jet ski accident suffered in July 2023. 

S Tanner Ingle (2018-22), #34 Los Angeles Rams: Inglewas on the Rams’ practice squad and did not appear in a game.

DT Justin Jones (2014-17), #93 Arizona Cardinals: Jones was placed on the Cardinals’ injured reserve with a triceps injury. He logged four total tackles in three games played, where he also recovered a fumble. It marked the fewest number of games that he played in his seven-year NFL career.

LB Vi Jones (2019-21), #53 Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Jones logged nine total tackles, including five solo stops, with two forced fumbles in seven total games played.

CB Robert Kennedy III (2023), #40 Los Angeles Chargers: Kennedy was on the Chargers’ practice squad for the 2024 season. 

DT T.Y. McGill Jr. (2011-14), #96 San Francisco 49ers: McGill appeared in two games between the San Francisco 49ers and the Cleveland Browns. He logged three total tackles, including one solo stop. 

C Dylan McMahon (2019-23), #63 Los Angeles Rams: McMahon made his NFL regular season debut with 71 total snaps, including 66 on offense, in the Rams’ 30-25 loss to the Seattle Seahawks in Week 18. He did not play the rest of the season as a reserve 

DT Alim McNeill (2018-20), #54 Detroit Lions: McNeill was placed on injured reserve after he suffered a torn ACL. He logged 25 total tackles, including a career-best tying 17 solo stops, in 14 games played. McNeill had 3.5 sacks with a forced fumble and a pass defended during the 2024 campaign.

WR Jakobi Meyers (2016-18), #16 Las Vegas Raiders: Meyers recorded 87 receptions for 1,027 yards with four touchdowns in 15 games played with the Raiders. It marked his first-career 1,000 yard season in his sixth year in the NFL. Meyers is just the 11th undrafted player in league history to accomplish the feat. 

DT Larrell Murchison (2018-19), #52 Los Angeles Rams: Murchison was on injured reserve and did not play in a game this season.

LB Germaine Pratt (2014-18), #57 Cincinnati Bengals: Pratt logged a career-high 143 total tackles, including a whopping 80 total solo stops, with two forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and two interceptions in his sixth NFL season. 

DE James Smith-Williams (2016-19), #50 Atlanta Falcons: Smith-Williams recorded 24 total tackles, including 12 solo stops, with a sack in 10 games played this season.

DL Kentavius Street (2014-17), #75 Atlanta Falcons: Street logged 15 total tackles, including nine solo stops, with a sack in 13 games played with the Falcons this fall. 

WR Thayer Thomas (2017-22), #89 Minnesota Vikings: Thomas was on the Vikings practice squad. 

LB Drake Thomas (2019-22), #42 Seattle Seahawks: Thomas recorded 13 total tackles with one pass defended in 17 games played with the Seahawks, mostly on special teams. 

OL Joe Thuney (2012-15), #62 Kansas City Chiefs: Thuney had a bye during Wild Card Weekend with the Chiefs. They will host the Houston Texans in the Divisional Round on Saturday.

LB Payton Wilson (2018-23), #41 Pittsburgh Steelers: Wilson made his NFL playoff debut with six total tackles, including three solo stops and one for a loss, in a 28-14 defeat against the Baltimore Ravens. He finished his rookie season with 78 total tackles to go with four for a loss, one interception.

QB Russell Wilson (2007-09, finished at Wisconsin), #3 Pittsburgh Steelers: Wilson 20-of-29 passing for 270 yards with two touchdowns in the Steelers’ 28-14 loss to the Baltimore Ravens in the Wild Card round. He finished his first season in Pittsburgh with 2,482 passing yards on a 63.7 completion percentage with 16 touchdowns and five interceptions. He added 155 rushing yards and two scores on the ground. 

OL Chandler Zavala (2021-22), #62 Carolina Panthers: Zavala played 198 total snaps in 13 games with the Panthers this season. He logged just three quarterback pressures allowed at guard in 93 total pass-blocking opportunities.