The Pittsburgh Steelers defense will look much different in 2026. Pittsburgh’s defensive unit was the highest-paid defense in the entire league in 2025, but finished 26th in total defense. Under new defensive coordinator Patrick Graham and key additions like Jamel Dean and Jaquan Brisker, there is plenty of reason to be optimistic about the direction of the Steelers defense this season.
Some players like third-year linebacker Payton Wilson believe that the new defense will allow him to play more freely.
During his appearance on Cam Heyward’s “Not Just Football” Podcast, the Steelers linebacker did not mince words when talking about the shift in his mentality this season.
“We were really tight as a linebacker unit, and they kind of empowered me in a sense to just go to play,” Wilson said. “And then just [Patrick Graham], his schematics, the way he coaches it. I’m finally just getting back to playing ball, rather than ‘Hey, if you make a mistake they might take you out.’ Or ‘Hey, if you do this wrong, you might come out of the game,’ and you don’t know when you’re coming back. Not to say I’m going to make mistakes all the time, but now it’s just playing ball and it kind of feels like my last few years of college again. It’s slowed down a lot and I’m just excited to be back out there rather than I guess nervous, not nervous but just anxious.”
Without explicitly saying it, Wilson seems to be calling out Teryl Austin and Mike Tomlin’s coaching during his first several years in the league. It sounds like Wilson won’t be nitpicked for his mistakes as much this season and will be able to learn on the fly, something that he is suggesting may not have been possible under the former regime.
Wilson totaled 79 tackles and nabbing an interception in his second year in the league. The Steelers’ inside linebacker room will look largely the same in 2026, allowing Wilson to continue to grow as a key piece of the Pittsburgh defense and into a more confident player overall.
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