At this point in his NFL career, QB Russell Wilson is a polarizing figure. Some people think he is a terrible quarterback, while others think he just needs a different fit than the Denver Broncos. For those with the latter opinion, they will get a chance to see if they are right soon. Yesterday, Wilson met with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The QB reportedly had a great meeting with offensive coordinator Arthur Smith. Former Bronco and now NFL analyst Mark Schlereth said Wilson is a great fit for Smith’s offense on the Stinkin’ Truth Podcast.
“I actually like that fit if you can’t find anybody else,” said Schlereth. “I like that fit because I know Arthur Smith understands the running game…I think you could develop into an elite level kinda run team and then set your play-action stuff off that and your play pass. There’s two types in my mind of play action. There’s run-action play-action, which is all your boot-keep game that looks like you’re basically just running the ball. So your RPO stuff would come off the run-action stuff. Like you can do that. And the thing with RPO stuff is you’re really one route read, which Russell, he’s great at that stuff.”
Schelerth is not a fan of Wilson, recently saying he thinks Wilson is garbage. Even a “garbage” Wilson put up good raw numbers, throwing for 26 touchdowns and only eight interceptions. Last year, Pittsburgh had only 13 passing touchdowns, so Wilson alone doubled Pittsburgh’s amount.
Obviously, raw numbers like passing touchdowns and interceptions can be deceiving, but Wilson has shown the ability to put the ball in the end zone. Something the Steelers desperately need. As Schlereth said, Smith’s offense is run-heavy and makes life easier for quarterbacks, as shown by Ryan Tannehill’s two years under Smith, where he threw 55 touchdowns.
Wilson has the football IQ and experience to make the correct quick reads, which is something that Schlereth admitted Wilson is great at. In Smith’s offense that thrives on that it could be a great partnership.
With how well Pittsburgh’s defense plays when healthy, they need an offense that can score. Wilson can do that. He may not give you a Pro Bowl-level season at this point in his career, but he can give you twenty touchdowns. Pittsburgh would love that right now, so long as he keeps his turnovers down.
The Steelers and Russell Wilson have not agreed to anything yet, but taking a chance on Wilson seems to be something that has a high upside and a low chance of being a disaster, as he likely won’t command a big contract like he did when he signed with the Broncos a few seasons ago. It’s a risk that is worth taking, and if the risk pays off, it could help the Steelers finally win a playoff game.
