Wilson has taken 26 sacks despite the third-most time-to-throw.
At least compared to last season, and due largely to the influence of head coach/offensive play-caller Sean Payton, Denver Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson is enjoying something of a renaissance in 2023.
Entering Week 9, with the Broncos on a bye, Wilson currently leads the NFL in touchdown percentage (6.9%), is tied for second in fourth-quarter comebacks (2), and ranks fourth in TD passes (16) and QB rating (101.7).
Speaking of which, according to Pro Football Focus, he also boasts the league’s fourth-highest passer rating (124.3) on throws of 20-plus yards and an even better rating (130.9) on throws of 10-plus yards.
Wilson, who turns 35 later this month, may never revert to the superstar he was in Seattle — the expectation on a $245 million contract. However, there’s zero doubt that he’s performing markedly better than the 2022 iteration under Nathaniel Hackett.
Still, one component of Wilson’s game remains open to scrutiny: his ability (or lack thereof) to get rid of the ball.
Through eight games, Wilson has absorbed the third-most sacks (26) despite having the third-most time-to-throw (3.03 seconds). This, behind an improved offensive line anchored by the league’s sixth-highest-graded guard (Ben Powers) and 13th-best center (Lloyd Cushenberry), per PFF.
So, what gives? To hear Payton tell it, Wilson doesn’t bear all of the responsibility for every negative outcome.
“I think it’s too hard to clump,” he reasoned Monday. “There are certain routes that you just know, ‘Hey, we’re going to be a little bit more aggressive down the field.’ That means the sack probability rate would go up a little bit. There are certain routes from a timing standpoint that we know the ball is coming out and it should never be a sack. A lot of it has to do with the route design and the willingness to try to gain the yards at the catch point or deeper, or the latter, which would be throwing it quickly and you’re prepared. Sometimes it’s third down and a certain distance. It just kind of irks me when I hear them say, ‘Well, he didn’t get to the yard to gain.’ Well, I would say more than two-thirds of third downs in our league are caught south of that and then earned because defenses protect that yard to gain. A lot of it has to do with the play design and what we’re trying to accomplish. ‘Russ’ has been smart relative to those decisions.”
Freelancing has always been Wilson’s style. When it works, he’s the hero. When it doesn’t, he’s the (lowercase) goat. Such helps explain why the Broncos are sitting at 3-5, albeit coming off a dominant victory over Kansas City which saw Wilson toss three scores — but also take six sacks.
Based on Payton’s rationale, that style is unlikely to change going forward.
