PFF Ranks Broncos' Russell Wilson Among NFL's Top-32 QBs
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According to a former teammate, Denver Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson is "very upset" with his tape from the 2022 season. Wilson should be displeased.
Wilson's lackluster and, at times, alarming 2022 campaign has led to a precipitous drop in the offseason rankings and lists that predominate the NFL summer. Pro Football Focus, for example, ranked Wilson the No. 20 quarterback, among 32, entering the 2023 season.
20. RUSSELL WILSON, DENVER BRONCOS
Wilson ranked 26th in PFF passing grade last season and 29th in overall grade. It’s difficult to overstate how bad his first year in Denver was and how much uncertainty that paints his future in. Sean Payton has been brought in to make the best of a disastrous situation, but exactly where Wilson can land on the spectrum between last season and his best play in Seattle is pure guesswork. Given his visible decline in athleticism, it seems likely that his baseline is closer to last year than his peak, but he is a player with a wide range of outcomes.
No Broncos fan needs PFF to tell them what their eyes witnessed last year. The 2022 version of Wilson was a specter of the All-Pro who led the Seattle Seahawks for a decade, winning a Super Bowl.
The Broncos have suffered with a litany of sub-par quarterbacks in the post-Super Bowl 50 era, and sadly, despite the king's ransom relinquished to Seattle to acquire him via trade last year, Wilson's play was every bit as bad as the signal-callers who preceded him in Denver. This I say with no relish.
However, there is hope. A light at the end of the tunnel.
Sean Payton.
Payton was attracted to the Broncos' head-coaching vacancy, in part, because of Wilson, and, specifically, how he finished his lackluster first year in Denver. Wilson's play did improve in the final two games after the Broncos had jettisoned Nathaniel Hackett. He looked more like his old QB self.
Wilson enters his age-35 season with some gas left in the tank. Payton could ensure that the Broncos get maximum fuel efficiency when it comes to Wilson's reserves.
I like Wilson's outlook for 2023. A year from now, don't be surprised to see sites like PFF singing a totally different tune about the Broncos' QB.
Like Hall-of-Fame head coach Dick Vermeil said of Payton resuscitating Wilson's career recently, "If he can't do it, it can't be done." Payton took a wounded reclamation project that most of the NFL had given up on back in 2006 and turned him into a perennial All-Pro and Pro Bowler bound for the Hall of Fame — Drew Brees.
While there's no guarantee that Payton will be able to replicate that football magic, I like his chances because of Wilson's resume. Time will tell. And unfortunately, we still have a lot of time until we'll begin to get answers to these questions, with the brutal six-week NFL summer right around the corner.
Then, the clouds will part, and the Football Gods will pour out a blessing in the form of Broncos training camp at the end of July. All will be known in due time.
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