With the Pittsburgh Steelers reportedly interested in former Denver Broncos QB Russell Wilson, there’s been a lot of debate today over whether is a good fit for the Steelers. One person who doesn’t think Wilson would work in Pittsburgh is former Broncos OL and current analyst Mark Schlereth, who said Wilson was “garbage” last season.
“He threw the ball behind the line of scrimmage more than any other quarterback in the league last year. Took more time to throw the ball than everybody in the league but Justin Fields, and I think he completed 26% of his passes intermediate range in the middle of the football field, which was dead last in the National Football League last year,” Schlereth said on The Pat McAfee Show today. “You can sit there and tell me that he played good, and you can look at the numbers and tell me 26 [touchdowns] and eight [interceptions] is good, but I’ll tell you it’s garbage. What I saw was garbage, and I’m just telling you exactly how it is.”
It’s worth noting that Schlereth is wrong on the stat that Wilson only completed 26% of his intermediate passes, but the Broncos only threw the ball between 5-15 yards downfield 26% of the time. That does track with Wilson’s rate of throwing the ball behind the line of scrimmage, which he did on 27% of his passes, per Warren Sharp.
But Schlereth’s point is that while the numbers look good on the surface, the actual play on the field wasn’t. Wilson got benched last season, which would go hand-in-hand with the idea that he wasn’t as good as the numbers looked, but part of the reason for the benching was to ensure that Denver wasn’t on the hook for any additional money on Wilson’s contract. Regardless, there’s a reason why he remains available two years after signing a megadeal, and it’s because he just hasn’t been all that good the last two seasons in Denver. He didn’t win enough and just didn’t play all that well during his stint with the Broncos.
For Pittsburgh, Kenny Pickett hasn’t been all that good, either. But given that he is younger and hasn’t gotten much of an opportunity in an offense run by someone other than Matt Canada, it would definitely be an interesting decision if the team decided to bring in Wilson. It would be a fun competition to watch, but I don’t really think Wilson would sign if he is coming in to be QB2, so the whole thing just doesn’t make a ton of sense.
Schlereth follows the Broncos closely, and he’s now the second person around the team on a regular basis who isn’t a fan of Wilson. Former Steeler Chad Brown is an analyst for the Broncos, and he doesn’t think Wilson would work in Pittsburgh, either, albeit more so for personality reasons than his play on the field. But with such a divide on Wilson, it would undoubtedly be a risk if he was to come to Pittsburgh.
Watch the Pat McAfee Show today, including Schlereth’s appearance, below:
