The Pittsburgh Steelers wrapped up their offseason training activities with 10 sessions over the last three weeks. It was our first look at many of the new players acquired during free agency, and the first chance for the rookies and the veterans to work together on the field. The Athletic’s Steelers insider Mark Kaboly jotted down 12 main takeaways from the OTA sessions that he attended, and came away impressed by QB Russell Wilson.
“The first thing that jumps out about Wilson is his leadership, followed by his work ethic and overall likability, at least from afar,” Kaboly wrote. “His diminutive stature is in there somewhere as well. But as far as tangible football traits, the guy still has the arm talent from when he played for the Seattle Seahawks. Wilson has big hands, and that helps explain the zip and the accuracy he showed at OTAs, whether it was a dump-off in the flat or a deep ball to Quez Watkins.
“Who knows whether that will translate to the regular season, but remember how many open receivers Pickett missed on a routine basis last year? I don’t see that happening with Wilson.”
Kaboly is not the first to observe this, as WR Van Jefferson recently raved over his arm talent and accuracy. Outside of George Pickens, the Steelers’ WR room consists of a bunch of guys like Scotty Miller, Quez Watkins, and Calvin Austin III who are speedy players that can stretch a defense vertically. Wilson’s vertical passing game has been his main calling card for his entire career with one of the prettiest deep balls you will see. With the WR room looking a little light on talent overall, they might be able to make up for some of that with a healthy dose of speed and letting Wilson’s arm strength do the rest.
He was still doing some of that with the Denver Broncos, too. Here is a pass from 2022 to K.J.Hamler over the top of the defense. Hamler isn’t a household name at the position by any means, but if you have the speed to get behind the defense, then Wilson can figure out a way to use you.
His adjusted net yards per passing attempt has taken a slight hit over the last two seasons in Denver, but he was back up over 6.0 in 2023. For most of his career with the Seattle Seahawks, Wilson was hovering between 6.5 to 7.5. That would be a large upgrade for the Steelers if he can get back to that range with Kenny Pickett at 4.97 over the last two seasons.
The Steelers have built their team for the last few seasons to win without good play at the quarterback position. The defense is loaded up, and the run game appears ready to roll people in the 2024 season. If Wilson can bring back the deep passing element that has been missing and make some of the routine plays more often than Pickett was able to, then the Steelers should enjoy a nice step forward on offense.
