The Pittsburgh Steelers are hoping their quarterback play improves this season after signing QB Russell Wilson and trading for QB Justin Fields. Wilson is expected to start for Pittsburgh this season, and in an article naming the biggest weakness of every starting quarterback, Pro Football Focus’ John Kosko named first-read throws Wilson’s “kryptonite.”
“Where Wilson struggled in 2023 was when throwing to his first read. He earned just a 69.7 PFF passing grade and -0.088 EPA per drop back, marks that ranked sixth worst and third worst, respectively. A big part of Wilson’s game in the past was his ability to improvise when he didn’t like the look. Age and injuries have zapped him of his mobility, and he is too often forcing throws that aren’t there,” Kosko writes.
Wilson not hitting his first read is also a reason why he’s one of the most-sacked quarterbacks in the NFL. The Steelers are hoping a change of scenery and working under offensive coordinator Arthur Smith can rejuvenate Wilson and get him playing like he was toward the end of his tenure with the Seattle Seahawks.
At that point, Wilson was still an effective quarterback despite not having some of the mobility he had early in his career. If the Steelers wanted mobility as a primary weapon at quarterback, they would start Fields, but it sounds like they value Wilson’s pedigree and leadership, hence why he’ll be the starter. Fields, however, will have packages for him in the offense.
It’s going to come down to Wilson being okay with not always hitting the home run. Wilson has a pretty deep ball, but he needs to be okay with hitting his first read even it won’t always be the biggest play. Wilson had to settle for checkdowns more often last season too, which also boils down to him having to settle after going through his progressions.
While it’s a good sign that Wilson isn’t just throwing it to the first guy he sees open without going through his reads, he has to trust his first read more often than he has and get rid of the ball quicker. That’ll help Wilson reduce his sack total and make Pittsburgh’s offense better.
The use of play-action in Smith’s offense should also help Wilson as plays will have more time to develop by the time he’s ready to make a throw. It seems like a problem that Wilson should be able to minimize in Pittsburgh’s offense this season, and quarterback play in Pittsburgh should improve over what the team’s had the past few seasons.
