Early in his time with the Seattle Seahawks, quarterback Russell Wilson was in an ideal situation with a strong running game behind him and a star-studded defense on the other side of him defensively.
That allowed Wilson to manage the game and make magic at times for the Seahawks, leading to a Super Bowl title, multiple appearances in the big game and deep playoff runs time and time again for the Seahawks.
Now, with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Wilson has a similar support system once again as the Steelers have a strong running game with running backs Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren, and a defense led by T.J. Watt, Cameron Heyward and Minkah Fitzpatrick, not to mention a future Hall of Fame head coach in Mike Tomlin.
For NFL Network analyst Charles Davis, it’s the exact type of situation that Wilson, 35, can thrive in late in his career.
Appearing on “The Bullpen With Adam The Bull” show Wednesday night, Davis stated that this is exactly the type of offense Wilson needs.
“…If they can continue to run the football with authority, it’s right to the point you made, that’s how Russell Wilson thrived in Seattle. This is how he can thrive in Pittsburgh,” Davis said of Wilson and the fit in Pittsburgh, according to video via the show’s YouTube page.Â
Though the Steelers’ offensive line remains a work in progress with a question mark at offensive tackle and a glaring hole at center after the release of Mason Cole in late February, the Steelers hired Arthur Smith to be the next offensive coordinator and have the workhorses in the backfield in Harris and Warren to really take the load off Wilson at this point in his career.
He doesn’t have to come in as the savior, and he doesn’t need to do too much snap to snap. He just needs to play within the system Smith is going to implement, which will focus on the run game and lean on play-action passing through the air.
Playing within the system and not trying to do too much is important from Wilson’s perspective because the team is very clearly built through defense and playing in low-scoring, mistake-limited games. Though the addition of Wilson is perceived to give the offense a major boost — and it will — the Steelers aren’t going to all of a sudden change their style and look to get into shootouts.
That’s a good thing for Russell Wilson. He still throws a terrific deep ball and has good accuracy overall, but he’s not at the stage of his career where he should be throwing the ball 40-45 times a game. Instead, he should be picking his spots wisely, leaning on the run game and letting the defense do its thing on the other side.
He thrived once in that same style, and now at the tail-end of his career he should lean into that style once again if he truly wants to chase more championships.
