The Denver Broncos pulled off a blockbuster trade for future Hall of Fame quarterback Russell Wilson this past spring in hopes of solving the issues that they have had at this position since Peyton Manning’s retirement following the 2015 season.
In said deal with the Seattle Seahawks, Denver yielded two first-round picks, two second-round selections, three players and other draft assets to acquire the Super Bowl-winning signal caller. It then inked him to a record-breaking five-year, $242.5 million contract extension months later.
Now four games into the 2022 season, Wilson looks like a shell of his former self. He has Denver at a pedestrian 2-2 on the season while seeing the team lose to average squads such as Wilson’s former Seahawks team and the previously winless Las Vegas Raiders.
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Whether it’s the Broncos’ front office attempting to save face at this point in the season or something else, they don’t seem too concerned about Wilson’s struggles thus far.
“The team isn’t too concerned at the moment despite a lackluster 44.9 QBR through four games. Sure, the Broncos want better from him and the entire offense, but alarms aren’t sounding.”
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Despite this, the issues are widespread and concerning. There’s a downward trend to Wilson’s game that coincides with the nine-time Pro Bowler set to turn 34 years old later in the season. Some of these concerns are over the amount of hits he took during his decade in Seattle. There’s also something to be said about a new offensive system and whether Wilson’s skills have simply deteriorated.
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Russell Wilson’s statistical regression is alarming for the Denver Broncos
Through the first four games of the 2022 season, Wilson is completing 61% of his passes for a mere 980 yards to go with four touchdowns and one interception.
His completion percentage would be a career low as Wilson’s QB rating would represent a six-year low if the season ended today. While the sample size isn’t big, the stats are alarming.
One of the largest issues for Wilson during his time with Seattle was a lack of pass protection and getting hit. During his 10-year run with the franchise, Wilson was sacked a league-high 427 times.
Thus far through four games, the veteran is on pace to be sacked a career-high 51 times. That’s not helping him make the big plays we became accustomed to during the quarterback’s days in the Pacific Northwest. That has seemingly limited the explosive plays Denver envisioned Wilson would bring to the table.
“There’s been some really good explosive plays. There’s been some opportunities for big runs, all kinds of different stuff. I think it’s just the consistency. We just don’t want to hurt ourselves. We want to be sure that we’re continuing moving the chains. We’ve had a good third-down week, and then we’ve had a bad third-down week. We’ve had a good red zone and then a bad red zone. It’s about putting it all together and not just doing one of those situations good.
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Heading into Week 5 against the Indianapolis Colts, Russell Wilson and the Broncos’ offense ranks 30th in scoring. It also ranks in the bottom half of the league in passing.
With stud young running back Javonte Williams now sidelined for the remainder of the season to a torn ACL, Denver’s running game becomes a major question mark. Veteran back Melvin Gordon (four fumbles in as many games) isn’t the solution.
Short of an improved running game, the Broncos are going to rely more on Wilson moving forward. Given the team’s offensive line struggles and his own regression under center, that has to be seen as concerning.
A season that started with Super Bowl aspirations in Mile High City could soon fade into the abyss of bottom-end playoff contention. In short, the Broncos need Russell Wilson to revert to earlier-career form. Short of that happening, they’ll end up missing the playoffs for the seventh consecutive season, leading to more questions about whether the quarterback simply isn’t a long-term answer.
Public posturing aside, there should be concern here. It’s that simple.