CBS Sports’ Will Brinson releases an annual tier list of starting quarterbacks around the NFL. From “the big three” to “backs against the wall” and everything in between, he separates the signal callers into different categories to project what they can do for their teams in 2024. Russell Wilson found himself in the “intrigue with question marks” fourth tier in 2023 but has plummeted to bottom of the list this year.
“Wilson is taking the vet minimum to play for the Steelers and has Justin Fields potentially nipping at his heels,” Brinson wrote. “He’s out for redemption after a disastrous performance with the Broncos that could also qualify as one of the worst trades in NFL history.”
Given his placement last year—after a much worse first season with the Denver Broncos—it feels as if Wilson is being unfairly dinged for the Broncos’ failed trade and the size of his last contract. He played much better in 2023 than he did in 2022, yet his placement dropped.
In fact, if you stack his numbers up against the rest of the quarterbacks in his tier, Wilson is comfortably above the rest in nearly every metric.
Russell Wilson: 15 starts, 66.4 completion percentage, 3,070 passing yards, 29 total TDs, 8 interceptions
Bryce Young: 16 starts, 59.8 completion percentage, 2,877 passing yards, 11 TDs, 10 interceptions
Deshaun Watson: 6 starts, 61.4 completion percentage, 1,115 passing yards, 8 total TDs, 4 interceptions
Daniel Jones: 6 starts, 67.5 completion percentage, 909 passing yards, 3 total TDs, 6 interceptions
That being said, his back is against the wall at his age, especially having Justin Fields behind him on the depth chart as a viable starting option who is 10 years younger. But a guy like Kirk Cousins is in the tier above Wilson titled “you can win with them.”
Cousins and Wilson are being viewed in different lights even though their situations have some similarities. Cousins now has first-round QB Michael Penix Jr. behind him on the depth chart, and both quarterbacks are 35 years old. Cousins is also coming off an Achilles injury.
Wilson is entering the best position he has been in since at least 2020 when he went 12-4 with the Seattle Seahawks. A strong running game and one of the league’s best defenses will take pressure off him to carry the team. If you took his 2023 stats and placed it on the 2023 version of the Steelers, they would have won a lot of games and been right in the thick of the competition during the playoffs.
Wilson may never return to his peak form, which is arguably Hall of Fame worthy, but the Steelers can most definitely win games with him. They may even win some games because of him. These offseason lists are always going to be highly debatable, but Wilson’s placement at the very bottom of the league’s starting quarterbacks is a head-scratcher for me.
