Minkah Fitzpatrick never played Russell Wilson before. The only time a Wilson-led team played the team Fitzpatrick was on, Wilson did not play due to injury. This offseason with the Pittsburgh Steelers is the first time he has really gotten to know him as a quarterback, and he has come away impressed so far.
“Russell is a high-level player”, Fitzpatrick said of Wilson on Movin’ the Chains with Pat Kirwan and Jim Miller on SiriusXM Friday. “He’s done it for a long time. As a post player or a half player or even just a dropper, he’s gonna try and move you. He’s gonna try and get you to go places that he’s not throwing to. You’ve got to play more patient. You can’t just bite on the first little shoulder movement”.
A 2012 third-round pick out of Wisconsin, Russell Wilson spent the first decade of his career with the Seattle Seahawks. He developed a certain style of ball during that time, which often takes patience for offenses and defenses. With one of the longest times to throw in the NFL, playing Wilson means biding your time.
While not the same thing, Fitzpatrick’s comments on Wilson remind me of what he said about Ben Roethlisberger. Joining the team in 2019, he talked about being in awe of Roethlisberger’s pump fake. He learned playing against Big Ben in practice the importance of patience, so adjusting to Wilson is nothing new.
Russell Wilson spent the fifth-most time in the pocket per play last season, according to Pro Football Focus. You can go back throughout his career and find some of the longest of that season, typically over three seconds. But nobody had a longer time to throw last season than…Justin Fields.
“Same thing with Justin [Fields]. Justin’s learning from Russell [Wilson], and he has a lot of experience under his belt as well”, Fitzpatrick said. “He knows the ins and outs of the game”.
Of course, there are upsides and downsides to holding onto the ball. The longer you hold on, the likelier you will find an open man. But at the same time, you are also increasingly more likely to take a sack. Russell Wilson has a career 8.5-percent sack rate, which is strikingly high. Over the past two seasons, he has taken a sack on nearly 10 percent of his dropbacks.
The Steelers hope they have built an offense around Wilson that will prevent that. They invested in the offensive line, and offensive coordinator Arthur Smith plans to scheme targets open for quicker deliveries than Wilson might have grown accustomed to.
At the same time, the deep pass is typically a long-developing play, and that remains a staple in Russell Wilson’s arsenal. Then again, the Steelers managed to transform Roethlisberger into a quick-release pocket passer. Wilson has more giddy-up left than Roethlisberger, but taking 55 sacks isn’t good for anybody.
