An NFL insider thinks the Denver Broncos finally plan to move away from Russell Wilson this offseason after a rocky 2023 season. The Broncos have turned around midseason to challenge for a playoff position, but that might not be enough for Sean Payton to want to keep Wilson.
The 7-7 Broncos were recently blown out by the Detroit Lions Saturday night. Wilson played okay, but his game-management skills aren’t going to be enough for the Broncos to be serious challengers in the near future. “Wilson is averaging just 6.6 air yards per attempt, which ranks 27th in the league. You can thrive in an offense throwing short passes — Patrick Mahomes and Joe Burrow are two of the three quarterbacks who have thrown shorter average passes than Wilson — but Wilson has virtually no intermediate game. Despite major investments in linemen Ben Powers and Mike McGlinchey last offseason, Wilson has been pressured on more than 39% of his dropbacks this season, ahead of only Fields…
On the whole, Wilson has an even 50.0 QBR, which ranks 20th. He’s 16th in adjusted net yards per attempt and 21st in EPA per dropback. Regardless of what number you use, pegging Wilson as something around an average quarterback seems fair. Barnwell thinks the Broncos will give Wilson one more season to prove himself because of the dead money situation with his contract. However, he wrote the Broncos will likely take a quarterback in round one or Day 2 of the 2024 NFL Draft to bridge a quarterback transition in Denver.
