Broncos QB Russell Wilson Ranked as 6th-Best Quarterback for Week 1
The Denver Broncos have a lot of hope for this season. The ownership situation is resolved with a new quarterback and coaching staff installed. However, some outside of Broncos Country have some concerns because of issues with Russell Wilson on tape.
The misgivings include Wilson's issues against two-high safety looks, taking too many sacks, his weight, and even how 'corny' he can be. While not every one of those concerns is viable, most of them are.
Wilson does have his issues with two-high safety looks and taking too many sacks. He was the most sacked QB in the NFL in his first decade in the league.
Many have written these drawbacks off for one reason or another, but the issues are there. Of course, with the number of sacks Wilson has taken, part of the issue was the offensive line, but his consistently high average time to throw doesn't help.
Despite those issues, The Ringer's Steven Ruiz gave his quarterback rankings for the first week of the season, placing Wilson was the sixth-best.
These rankings are based on a point system that factors in six aspects of being an NFL quarterback: accuracy, arm talent, creativity, decision-making, pocket presence, and pre-snap.
From there, the overall grade takes the scores and weighs them with accuracy and decision-making, accounting for 50% of the overall score. Arm talent is another 20%, and the final three weigh 10% each.
The top five quarterbacks with their overall scores are:
- Aaron Rodgers (96.2)
- Patrick Mahomes (94.8)
- Justin Herbert (94.3)
- Tom Brady (91.8)
- Josh Allen (88.0)
https://qbrankings.theringer.com/
Wilson ranks sixth with an 87.5. Each quarterback also got a few tags about his game, and Wilson's was a 'trick shot artist' but also 'washed watch.' Being on the 'washed watch' list is one of the national concerns about how much gas Wilson has left in the tank.
What carried Wilson was his fourth-best accuracy score of 95, which counts for 25% of the overall score. His decision-making was ninth-best, which was 86, and counted for 25% of his overall score.
Pocket presence and pre-snap, 10% each, were the two low scores for Wilson, with 64 and 75, respectively. Only two quarterbacks had a lower pocket presence score, and Wilson was 15th in pre-snap.
What it Means
This is a favorable ranking for Wilson, even if he is on the washed list. Being on the 'washed watch' list is understandable but may be a little premature.
Before Wilson hurt his finger and was rushed back last season, he was expected to get his first-ever elusive MVP vote. He went 90-of-125 passing for 1,196 yards and 10 touchdowns with one interception.
Even after he came back from the injury, his play eventually rebounded. However, the first two weeks were rough, completing 34-of-66 passes for 368 yards with two interceptions. In addition, the finger injury wasn't fully healed when he came back, which was evident from watching him throw.
After a while, it got back to normal as Wilson went 135-of-209 passing for 1,548 yards and 15 touchdowns to three interceptions. So for 12 of his 14 games, Wilson was playing at an MVP level, even with his issues against two-high looks, holding the ball too long, and his lack of attacking the middle of the field.
Wilson completed 67.4% of his passes, with 2,745 yards, 25 touchdowns, and four interceptions over 12 games, taking out the first two after he returned from injury. It shows how the injury hindered his performance after being rushed back and derailed his season. However, it torpedoed more than that as it hurt the public opinion on his play overall.
This isn't to argue that Wilson is a top-five quarterback in the NFL, but he is still top-10. He is still a competent quarterback with a few good years left in the tank. Being ranked sixth-best for Week 1 is a little high, but fine. The issue with the ranking is Wilson being on the 'washed watch' list.
Wilson still had a good season, even when you take what he did over the full campaign and extrapolate that to a full schedule. He would've been ranked 15th in passing yards and finished with the sixth-most in his career. His total touchdowns would have been 10th-most, and he would've been tied for fourth-fewest interceptions.
The ranking of Wilson as the sixth-best quarterback is fine, even given The Ringer's comments about his best and worst attribute score. He is also a bit of a 'trick-shot artist' with some throws he can make. However, despite the concerns about being washed, that take is a bit premature.
There should be more concern about how the Broncos' offense looks, Wilson's average time to throw, and issues attacking the middle of the field than whether he is washed.
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