Why didn’t Russell Wilson crack the first tier of ESPN’s QB rankings?
Jul 22, 2015, 1:15 PM | Updated: 1:24 pm
Russell Wilson, a Super Bowl winner, didn't crack the first tier of ESPN's quarterback rankings. (AP)
(AP)
BY
Seattle Sports
In his first three seasons in the NFL, Russell Wilson led the Seattle Seahawks to the playoffs each year, appearing in back-to-back Super Bowls and winning one championship. Yet ESPN has him in the second tier of all NFL quarterbacks (eighth overall) in their annual Quarterback Tiers project, which boasts a panel of 35 NFL insiders.
So how is it that the quarterback who holds the record for most wins in the first three years of his NFL career can’t crack the first tier?
ESPN.com NFL columnist Mike Sando, who wrote the rankings article, told 710 ESPN Seattle’s “Brock and Salk” that it has to do with the perception of Wilson’s throwing ability, which is diminished due to his playing in a run-first offense with Marshawn Lynch in the backfield.
“People don’t think that Russell Wilson could throw to win every week, and that is something he hasn’t had to do,” Sando said.
There’s another perception holding Wilson back – one that sees the Colts’ Andrew Luck, the No. 1 pick in the same draft that saw Wilson picked in the third round, as a more talented player even though he hasn’t had as much success in the win-loss column. Sando compares it to LeBron James and Steph Curry in the NBA – Curry’s Golden State Warriors beat James’ Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals this year, but you’d be hard-pressed to find a general manager who would take Curry over James in a draft.
“I think people in the league see that with Andrew Luck,” Sando said about the James comparison, “and I think if the Colts call today, ‘Hey, we trade you Andrew Luck for Russell Wilson,’ you’ll get done in five minutes.”
That doesn’t mean Sando sells Wilson short, but it also doesn’t mean he thinks the panel got Wilson’s ranking wrong.
“He still was tied for eighth in this. He’s getting a ton of respect, right?” Sando said. “When I do radio shows outside of (the Seattle) market, people are more apt to ask me why (Wilson’s) so high, and when I do the one here it’s ‘Why is he so low?’ I think he’s in a respectful place after Year 3, but I understand why you’d say ‘Why is Andrew Luck just universally higher and seen in the top tier?'”
