This series was created a number of years ago in response to questions about why certain well-known prospects went unselected in NFL drafts. For these articles, I reach out to sources with NFL teams to find out why their organizations passed on drafting a given player, and/or, what were the reasons for other teams to pass on that prospect. The positive response to “Why Undrafted” and questions from readers about why prospects were drafted lower than the media expectations led us to create the parallel series “Why the Slide?”
Both series are back this year. Feel free to email me requests for Why the Slide? and Why Undrafted? at [email protected]. I can’t promise to get to all of them, but I will do my best and definitely will respond to the email.
Often when players go back to school for their senior year, it ends up being a good decision. They end up physically more mature, have more experience, and are older than a lot of the players they are playing against. There always exceptions to any rule, however, and Wilson is one of those players this year. As a sophomore, Wilson established himself as the Seminoles’ best interior lineman, combining with edge rusher Brian Burns to form a nice tandem for Florida State. Wilson racked up 42 tackles, 3.5 sacks, one forced fumble, two passes batted and 4.5 tackles for a loss that season.
As a junior, Wilson stayed consistent in the ground game and improved his pass rush despite not having Burns next to him to draw attention. Wilson totaled 44 tackles with five sacks, four passes defended and a forced fumble in 2019. Team sources said he could have been a second- or third-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft had he come out, but he decided to return for his senior year.
Going back to Florida State ended up being a mistake for Wilson, who was putting a very disappointing senior season before suffering a season-ending leg injury. Over his six-game 2020, he notched 17 tackles and one sack. Against Notre Dame, he only had one tackle, and against in-state rival Miami, he recorded just one solo tackle while the Seminoles were blown out. He was better in Florida State’s upset over North Carolina, but the Fighting Irish offensive line with future NFL competitors shut him down. His one sack came against Jacksonville State.
Team sources say a variety of issues combined to lead Wilson to fall undrafted. The biggest issue was his senior-year tape, which multiple team sources called awful. There were also medical concerns on top of the bad play, and team sources were critical of Wilson’s football character. He earned the reputation of being a “locker room lawyer,” and staffers don’t like those personalities dividing teams or forming cliques in the locker room. Those issues added up to push Wilson into the undrafted ranks.
Wilson signed with the Cleveland Browns after going undrafted, and they was a good landing spot. Cleveland has some veterans and recent draft picks in Malik Jackson, Andrew Billings, 2020 third-round pick Jordan Elliott and 2021 fourth-round pick Tommy Togiai at defensive tackle. Those four are in good position to land roster spots given their contract statuses and the draft-pick investment. However, there could be one more roster spot, or possibly two, for an open competition to be part of the team’s rotation. Wilson will have to beat out players like Sheldon Day, Damion Square and Malik McDowell. For the long term, the Browns could use some young starters to emerge, so Wilson has an opportunity to earn a job. Given the veterans and the draft picks already projected to be on the roster, Wilson’s best hope might be to earn a spot on the practice squad and hopefully grow from there into being a contributor.
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