Count former NFL offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton among those who are big fans of Russell Wilson joining the Pittsburgh Steelers. Hamilton said Wednesday on NFL Network that Wilson is the best fit with his team out of all the quarterbacks who have found new homes this offseason.
“You look at the model that best fits Russell Wilson, and you go back and revisit how he had success in Seattle, it started with a great defense,” Hamilton said. “He had the Legion of Boom that gave him the ball back quite often, but he also had a strong running game back when he was with Seattle and having Beast Mode to hand the ball off to, which we feel good about the backfield with the Pittsburgh Steelers currently. I just think that style of football on a team that has an established culture is going to really complement Russell’s skill set.”
Hamilton also said the hiring of Arthur Smith will help the Steelers establish the run game and set up play-action passes.
Pittsburgh’s defense is one of the best in the league with T.J. Watt, Cameron Heyward and Minkah Fitzpatrick all All-Pro caliber players and the team adding LB Patrick Queen to hold things down in the middle. In 2023, the defense kept the Steelers in a lot of games and helped them win even when their offense was struggling, which happened for most of the season.
The two-headed monster of Jaylen Warren and Najee Harris in the backfield can help the Steelers win on the ground, much like the Seahawks did with Marshawn Lynch when Wilson was in Seattle as Hamilton pointed out. The structure of the Steelers is very similar to some of those Seattle teams that went deep into the playoffs, and while Wilson is older, he can still sling it and should be able to work off play-action and find ways to get the ball to George Pickens.
Obviously, the Steelers need to find another receiver to pair with Pickens. One option is WR Tyler Boyd, and there’s reportedly mutual interest between both parties. With Wilson, there have been questions about his personality and fit in the locker room, but Pittsburgh’s culture and Mike Tomlin should eliminate some of those concerns. Former Steelers CB Patrick Peterson said that Wilson and Tomlin are a “match made in heaven,” and if the Steelers had legitimate concerns about Wilson’s personality, they wouldn’t have brought him in.
It’ll be interesting to see how it all plays out, but given the similarities that Hamilton pointed out between the Steelers and the Seahawks during the best seasons of Wilson’s career, there’s hope that the fit will work out and hopefully lead to a playoff run and Pittsburgh’s first postseason win since 2016.
