Russell Wilson's Preseason Debut Triggers Laughable Take From CBS Sports

Russell Wilson is damned if he does and damned if he doesn't.

The Denver Broncos' first preseason game ended in an 18-17 loss to the Arizona Cardinals. Quarterback Russell Wilson wasn’t excellent or terrible in his debut under head coach Sean Payton. 

Wilson played decent enough, considering the circumstances. But CBS Sports' Will Brinson believes the Broncos' QB is already a disappointment in the Payton era, wondering out loud whether Wilson is "washed." 

Is Russell Wilson Washed?

Plenty of people will tell you Russell Wilson was "fine" during Week 1 of the preseason, his first live action in Sean Payton's offense. I am not one of those people. Russ was one of my MVP sleeper picks so this isn't confirmation bias: he didn't look the way I hoped he would in his first action with Payton calling plays. This might not be remotely indicative of how Russ ends up playing in 2023, but the highly-scrutinized quarterback played well into the second quarter of Denver's matchup against Arizona (less than eight minutes were left before halftime) and he looked lethargic.

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There’s a lot to unpack here. The fact of the matter is that play calling in the preseason is as bland as an unsalted potato chip. No coach in their right mind is putting plays on tape that would tip their hand on what opponents can expect in the regular season. 

Payton is going into his 16th season as a head coach, so he knows a thing or two about scheming for preseason as opposed to the regular season. Vanilla is the flavor of choice for the first three weeks. Brinson goes on. 

I don't care about the points scored, at all. He threw a touchdown to Jerry Jeudy but it was a slant against a silly cover zero all-out blitz. Great job by Russ to throw the ball but that's a freebie. Jeudy killed him with a bad drop the play before and he was penalized by several missed kicks and heavy pressure from Arizona. But Wilson didn't step into any throws and just generally didn't seem comfortable or quick in the pocket. I'm comparing him to Drew Brees, which is unfair, except it's not -- Brees/Russ have been compared for years and Payton turning Russell into Brees 2.0 or Brees 1.5 was the big selling point of this marriage. Brees dropped back, moved in the pocket and scanned the field so quickly you felt like he was on fast forward. Russ looked like someone listening to a podcast at 0.5x speed while sitting in quicksand. I'm not sure he stepped into a single throw on Friday night.

Brinson's most egregious claim was that Wilson “didn’t step into any throws” on Friday night. Well, the evidence was clear to most that Wilson had defenders in his face almost immediately due to the horrendously bad play from the Broncos' offensive line. 

Left tackle Garett Bolles gave up a sack to Dennis Gardeck, whom no one outside of Arizona even knew existed, while the Cardinals front also handled big-money free agent Ben Powers at left guard. Right tackle Mike McGlinchey didn’t suit up as he recovers from an ankle injury.

There was, in fact, no pocket to step up into. That’s also why Wilson didn’t seem “quick or comfortable.” Warren Sharp's analytics revealed that Wilson was pressured on 64% of his drop-packs, which was the most in the NFL in the first week of the preseason. And things didn't get much better for Jarrett Stidham as Denver's QB2.

context for QB preseason performance

preseason week 1 pressure rate:

64% - Russell Wilson
63% - Jake Browning
59% - Jarrett Stidham
53% - Nathan Rourke
52% - Tommy DeVito
50% - Mason Rudolph
50% - Chris Streveler
50% - Gardner Minshew
50% - Brett Rypien
50% - Trey Lance
50% -…

— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) August 14, 2023

The Drew Brees comparison has undoubtedly been made before, but it’s not an apples-to-apples affair. For one thing, Brees had several Pro Bowl and All-Pro offensive linemen throughout his career. 

The only player blocking for Wilson on Friday night with such an accolade is Bolles, who earned second-team All-Pro honors in 2020. Last season, Wilson held the ball longer than he should’ve, but that was simply not the case on Friday night in Glendale, AZ. His offensive line couldn’t hold the pocket, even if they were paid to. Oh wait, they are….

Payton isn’t being tasked with turning Wilson into Brees 2.0, but instead, his goal is to get the most out of what Russ can do. The only comparable attribute between Brees and Wilson is their height. 

Brees was a pure pocket passer that evaded and eluded defenders within the pocket. On the other hand, Wilson is vastly more mobile than Brees and uses that mobility to break the pocket, throw on the run, and scramble for yards. 

Wilson tried to be a pocket passer last season, and we all know how that turned out. Any comparison beyond size holds water like a colander.

To panic about Wilson’s play after the first preseason game in a new system — and jump to any lasting conclusion — is laughable. He didn’t blow anyone away but didn’t fall flat, and he played in the face of the most pressure an O-line relinquished in the entire NFL last week. 

Wilson made some solid throws and avoided making big mistakes. He even threw a touchdown, and whether you think it was a “freebie” or not, questioning any touchdown-scoring play is silly. 

There are two preseason games left for Denver. Wilson will have more time to get comfortable in Payton’s system, while Friday night's wake-up call should put some urgency in the Broncos' O-line.   

To such knee-jerk Wilson detractors this preseason, I say, hold your horses. 

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