Russell Wilson has only started three games this season but is 3-0 with some of the best stats in the league on a per-game basis. Whether it is his perception from the last couple years of poor play or a small sample size, NFL.com’s Nick Shook has been hesitant to move Wilson up in any meaningful way in his weekly QB index.
Wilson checked in at No. 18 this week after a big win over the Washington Commanders. Jayden Daniels is No. 7 on the index, by the way.
“The sequence that ended in the Steelers’ game-winning touchdown can almost perfectly explain Wilson’s day in Washington,” Shook wrote. “He missed Darnell Washington over the middle and desperately lofted a pass to Mike Williams on third down, placing it perfectly over Williams’ outside shoulder for the score. That was the story of the game for Wilson, who missed some throws, connected on a handful of other highly accurate attempts, continued to rely on George Pickens and repeatedly managed to give his receivers chances to win one-on-one matchups.”
Shook may not be ready to move Wilson up, but I think the foundation is being laid for progress over the second half of the season. We all saw how favorable the media has viewed the Steelers after their Week 10 win. That is going to be exponentially higher if the Steelers beat the Ravens this Sunday.
Adjusted net yards per passing attempt (ANY/A) is one of the best stats to measure a quarterback’s impact. Wilson doesn’t qualify for Pro Football Reference’s 2024 chart yet because he has only played three games, but he has an amazing ANY/A of 8.24 so far. That is the second-best mark in the league after Lamar Jackson.
That figure will likely come down some by the end of the season, but it is currently on pace for Wilson’s career best in that statistic. He isn’t having the most efficient season with a 58.8 completion percentage so far, but he is making his completions count with a number of explosive plays to George Pickens and others.
Mike Williams should get more involved, which gives Wilson a much better No. 2 WR to work with than what the Steelers have had. Not to mention Pat Freiermuth still isn’t getting involved enough and should be worked into the game plan more as they go.
Wilson started the season at No. 24 due to his poor performances with the Denver Broncos. He fell off the list when Justin Fields played for six weeks, and didn’t appear again until the Week 8 index when he was No. 18 after a very strong debut in Black and Gold. He moved down to No. 19 during the bye week with Tua Tagovailoa returning from IR and has since moved back up to 18. His movement this week had more to do with Jordan Love falling three spots due to injury more than anything else.
Just ahead of Wilson are Geno Smith, Matthew Stafford, Tagovailoa, and Sam Darnold. I don’t think it is unreasonable to expect Wilson to eventually pass all four to get into the top 14 or so. Another performance or two at his current pace should get him right into that neighborhood.
