Russell Wilson has endured a decade-long stint with a Seattle Seahawks team that was reluctant to unleash the quarterback. Seattle’s philosophy centered on Pete Carroll’s physical, defensive approach.
Wilson ended up with the Denver Broncos with a team that will be more than happy with #LetRussCook. Despite a lack of quarterback focus on offense in Seattle, Wilson still produced at a very high level.
The veteran quarterback has garnered nine Pro Bowl nominations in his 10 years as a pro, and unsurprisingly that has led to big team successes, as the Seahawks made the playoffs in eight of those seasons and defeated the Broncos in Super Bowl XLVIII . What are Wilson’s prospects in Denver now in the hands of an offense-minded head coach who has coordinated the NFL’s back-to-back MVP for the past three years?
Former Houston Texans No. 1 draft pick in 2022, David Carr recently swung for the fences in his projection for Wilson in the Year 1.
I think we can all agree that Wilson is a great quarterback that will do well in Denver. One person who will be a big factor in Wilson’s success is Nathaniel Hackett. During Wilson’s final season in Seattle, there was a break between running and passing games. OC Shane Waldron’s scheme typically relies on off-game play action, but the veteran passer wanted to see defense, drop back and throw – essentially, Russ wanted to cook. The Packers ran the same system with Aaron Rodgers when Matt LaFleur and Hackett arrived in 2019, and there were disagreements between Rodgers and staff over the QB’s responsibilities that were eventually ironed out — Rodgers has won back-to-back league MVP awards after all . Hackett knows how to work out a compromise so an experienced QB can have control at the line of scrimmage without changing the entire scheme. And now that we know that Hackett and Wilson are “joined at the hip,” I envision Wilson having one of the best statistical years of his career without compromising his ability or Hackett’s vision on offense.
Projection 2022: 67 completion percentage, 4,200 passing yards, 30 TDs, 8 INTs
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Wilson’s career-high yards came back in Year 5 (2016) when he threw for 4,219 yards. His career passing touchdown mark is 40, which only entered the history books two seasons ago in 2020.
Keep in mind that Wilson’s passing acumen doesn’t paint the full picture of him as an offensive threat. He’s a phenomenal playmaker who can hit opponents with his legs when things go wrong.
In 2014, Wilson rushed through the air for a whopping 849 yards and six touchdowns, in addition to his 3,475 passing yards and 20 points. His NFL resume includes 4,689 rushing yards on 846 attempts (5.5 average) and 23 touchdowns on the ground.
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Wilson is also very stingy when it comes to giving the ball away. His career TD to INT ratio is a healthy 292 to 87.
So, is Carr’s prediction for Wilson within the bounds of plausibility? Absolutely. And it wouldn’t surprise me in the least if he surpassed the 4,200 passing yards and 30 touchdowns that Carr predicted for the Broncos’ new quarterback in 2022.
After all, the supporting actress that Wilson inherits is brimming with acting skills. And while the Broncos’ offense has its warts, it’s arguably the best unit Wilson will have played behind in many, many years.
The Wilson era officially began Tuesday when he and the Broncos came to the UCHealth Training Center to start the team’s offseason training program. It will be fun to see what head coach Nathaniel Hackett has in store for Wilson.
For what it’s worth, Carr hasn’t narrowed his 2022 predictions down to Wilson. He also predicted what Drew Lock could have in store for the Seahawks this year.
Lock struggled at Denver and posted a 59.3 completion rate over three seasons, the worst among 35 QBs with at least 20 starts since 2019. I think he still has a lot of skill and could do that in a system like Seattle’s that has a run offers, perform well -heavy approach and more game action. And while he’s the team’s QB1 at the moment, Lock has more to do than that just enough to win the job when the Seahawks draft a quarterback later this month. He’ll have a hard time keeping a dynamic first-round signal caller like Malik Willis or Kenny Pickett off the field, but stranger things have happened.
Projection 2022: 60 completion percentage, 3,200 passing yards, 18 TDs, 12 INTs
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