Ranking the AFC West Quarterbacks

KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - SEPTEMBER 10: Patrick Mahomes #15 celebrates a touchdown with teammate Travis Kelce #87 of the Kansas City Chiefs during the second quarter against the Houston Texans at Arrowhead Stadium on September 10, 2020 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - SEPTEMBER 10: Patrick Mahomes #15 celebrates a touchdown with teammate Travis Kelce #87 of the Kansas City Chiefs during the second quarter against the Houston Texans at Arrowhead Stadium on September 10, 2020 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
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NFL 2022, AFC West
AFC West; Denver Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson (3) runs during a Denver Broncos mini camp at UCHealth Training Center. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

AFC West QB no. 3: Russell Wilson, Denver Broncos

This could come as a surprise to some because Russell Wilson is a Super Bowl Champion (2014) and has been to two of them consecutively.

While he played a role in the famous Malcolm Butler moment that led to his Super Bowl loss that has nothing to do with him falling to the #3 spot. (Yes, also his jersey number like Derek Carr)

Wilson sustained a hand injury in 2021 which caused him to miss three games and when he did return things were still not right. Regardless of the hand injury, Wilson threw for his lowest number of passing yards since he entered the league in 2021 throwing for only 3,113 yards.

Wilson took care of the ball throwing only 6 interceptions with 25 touchdowns for a completion rate of 64.8%. 

The real reason for Wilson’s position is anyone that watched the Seahawks in 2021 saw a pretty inefficient offense and Wilson was a contributing factor.

Wilson was extremely efficient in securing first and second downs however on third downs he was ranked #28 in the league with only a 51.5 completion percentage.

Wilson was in poor company with Justin Fields, Baker Mayfield, and Trevor Lawrence right behind him. Specifically, on short-yardage 3rd down situations (3rd and 5 or less) Wilson was ranked last with a completion percentage of 46.2.

Wilson needs to show that he is back to full health and work with Coach Hackett on opening up a variety of third-down plays to secure that crucial completion.

While Wilson is a dynamic threat as a mobile quarterback that can beat you with his feet or his arm Wilson needs to hit more receivers downfield if that’s what wins games, especially since the Seahawks only won seven games last season. Let’s see what he does with the Broncos in 2022.

“Let’s ride.”