He played college football for the Illinois Fighting Illini, and was selected by the New England Patriots in the second round of the 2012 NFL draft.

During the draft process, Wilson attended private visits with multiple teams, including the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Houston Texans, Arizona Cardinals, Atlanta Falcons, Indianapolis Colts, Baltimore Ravens, and San Diego Chargers.

At the conclusion of the pre-draft process, Wilson was projected to be a sixth or seventh round pick by the majority of NFL draft experts and scouts.

[4] Throughout training camp, he competed for a job as a backup safety against James Ihedigbo, Nate Ebner, Josh Barrett, and Sergio Brown.

[5] Head coach Bill Belichick named Wilson the backup free safety to begin the regular season, behind Steve Gregory.

[7] In Week 8, he recorded three combined tackles, a pass deflection, and returned an interception by Case Keenum for a 45-yard gain during a 45–7 victory against the St. Louis Rams at Wembley Stadium.

[12] The New England Patriots finished first in the AFC East division with a 12–4 record and received a first round bye and home-field advantage.

On January 13, 2013, Wilson appeared in his first career playoff game and made three combined tackles in the Patriots' 41–28 victory against the Houston Texans in the AFC Divisional Round.

On December 22, 2013, Wilson made one solo tackle and returned an interception by Tyrod Taylor for a 74-yard touchdown during a 41-7 victory at the Baltimore Ravens in Week 16.

[19] On February 1, 2015, Wilson played on special teams in Super Bowl XLIX as the Patriots defeated the Seattle Seahawks 28–24.

He finished his last season with the New England Patriots with 13 combined tackles (ten solo) and two pass deflections in nine games and zero starts.

[29] Throughout training camp, Wilson competed to be the Lions' starting strong safety against Rafael Bush and rookie Miles Killebrew.

[32] On November 20, 2016, Wilson recorded five solo tackles, a pass deflection, and made his first interception as a member of the Lions during a 26–19 win against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 11.

[32] In Week 17, he collected seven combined tackles and made his first career sack on quarterback Aaron Rodgers in a 31–24 loss to the Green Bay Packers.

[32] He finished his first season in Detroit with a career-high 89 combined tackles (74 solo), two pass deflections, two interceptions, and a sack in 15 games and 14 starts.

[34] Defensive coordinator Teryl Austin named Wilson the starting strong safety to begin the regular season, alongside Glover Quin.

[36] He finished the season with 55 combined tackles (42 solo), two pass deflections, two sacks, and an interception in ten games and nine starts.