The old saying goes, “If you think you have two quarterbacks, you don’t have any.”
Turns out, the Pittsburgh Steelers have two top 25 quarterbacks in Russell Wilson and Justin Fields.
At least, they are both in the top 25 in Chris Simms’ Top 40 QB Countdown for NBC Sports and the “Chris Simms Unbuttoned” podcast.
Fields, who is slotted as the backup to Wilson, came in at No.25, while Wilson checked in at No. 21 in the rankings.
Fields, who was acquired from the Chicago Bears for a 2025 conditional sixth-round pick, came on strong late last season with the Bears as a passer and a runner. But there are still some questions about his overall abilities as a true NFL quarterback.
Simms stated that while Fields has improved as a passer while also highlighting his elite-level running ability, there isn’t enough there just yet as a passer to rank any higher than No. 25 in his top 40 QB Countdown, even with a change of scenery.
“I think the big thing with Justin Fields is, we’ve seen growth. We know that he’s the greatest athlete at quarterback in the game right now,” Simms said, according to video via NFL on NBC on YouTube. “I think that’s the number one headline. There is nobody that can move and run like Justin Fields, alright? I love his grit, his toughness, right? His lay it on the lineness to win a football game.
“…He is showing growth as a pocket passer in the NFL, right? But it’s still not where you would like it.”
Fields has shown growth, without a doubt. Last season with Chicago, Fields threw for a career-high 2,562 yards, increased his completion rate to 61.6%, and cut down on his interceptions. He also increased his overall grade from Pro Football Focus and his grade as a passer.
But there was still a lot of meat left on the bone with Fields as a passer, to borrow a Mike Tomlin phrase.
Fields is a dynamic athlete, one who can pull the ball down and make magic happen, but he hasn’t really taken that overall step forward as a passer like he did in college. Granted, some of that blame can be placed on the Bears’ inability to fully develop him, but some of it is on Fields, too.
That’s led to questions about his ability to read the field, hang in the pocket and dissect defenses, and has led to a guy like Simms questioning his ability to anticipate, as well as questioning his arm strength, even though Simms is a believer in Fields overall.
After ranking Fields as the No. 25 QB in his countdown, Simms placed Wilson at No. 21, just ahead of New Orleans’s Derek Carr, but behind Chicago Bears rookie Caleb Williams.
My, how the mighty have fallen.
“I would say he’s a guy that still has top-notch ability. But he’s lost his way in trusting himself and trusting what he sees on the football field, and being a little too, I think, worried about his overall standing in the pantheon of quarterbacks and what it might look like if he plays this way in this game or whatever else,” Simms said of Wilson’s ranking, according to video via the NFL on NBC YouTube page. “He lets too much of that stuff influence him, in my opinion.
“And, I wanna say to him just like, ‘Hey man, stop thinking so much. Just let it fly a little bit.'”
That is a common criticism of Wilson. Denver head coach Sean Payton stated during the 2023 season that Wilson needs to stop kissing babies and shaking hands, and instead focus on playing the quarterback position and getting back to the level he once played at.
To Wilson’s credit, he played well in 2023, throwing for 3,070 yards, 26 touchdowns and eight interceptions. Looking like the Wilson of old at times, he made magic happen on the move, connecting on the deep ball consistently, though he did throw at or behind the line of scrimmage a bit more than many would have liked.
Though the Broncos gave up quickly on Wilson, particularly Payton wanting to move on immediately, Wilson still has some good years of football left in him. He just needs to get that confidence back that he had in Seattle.
Working in Arthur Smith’s scheme should help Wilson get back on track, especially with the amount of talent around him in Pittsburgh, which is very similar from a stylistic standpoint to the Seahawks when Wilson was at this best.
But it will be incredibly important for Wilson to get back to believing in himself, stop overthinking things now that he’s out from under Payton, and just let it rip.
Check out the full episode of Simms ranking Fields and Wilson in his Top 40 QB Countdown.
