A quick glance at the main stat line for Russell Wilson last year suggests a good year. In 15 games, he had 3070 yards, 26 touchdowns, and 8 interceptions. Dive a little deeper and some not so great numbers show up, such as he was the fourth most sacked QB with 45. Wilson also tied with the most lost fumbles, giving it away 7 times. His average yards per attempt was just 6.9. For some context, the last year that Big Ben played, 6.2 was his YPA average.

I wasn’t too concerned with Broncos fans and the harsh things they posted on social media and chat threads about Wilson’s performance. Denver had a myriad of problems and a new head coach that made it clear he did not want his starting QB. The Steelers coaching staff has both Russell and Fields to work with, and despite the “pole position” being set for this early phase of the process, they will set the real roster order once they get to evaluate actual play. Wilson’s yards and touchdowns had me feeling good about him leading the team for now.

What did concern me was hearing the latest Monday Morning Conversation on the SCN flagship podcast Let’s Ride (you can hear it in the player below). I always enjoy that segment as it can bring great observations from outside of the Steelers bubble. The take on Wilson from folks that cover the Broncos was not great. In fact, it was scary enough that even the harshest of Kenny Pickett critics might have been thinking about calling the Eagles and saying “Just kidding, send him back!” It’s a very entertaining discussion and if you haven’t checked it out yet, the link is below.

One particular point made on the Monday Morning Conversation and echoed in fan chat threads regarded Wilson’s inability to use the middle of the field. As Steeler fans, that is a problem we are far too familiar with over the last several years. That said, even the most professional observer can have perceptions clouded by emotion over their teams overall play, so I decided to dive in and see for myself. I have no rooting interest in Wilson winning the job, and only want the best chance to see an actual functioning offense in Pittsburgh. Cue up the NFL Plus app, the 45 minute condensed replay, and clicking the you-know-what out of the 10 second advance button. That’s right, I watched every single Wilson snap from last season, so you wouldn’t have to. Here’s what I found.

I counted every pass that went into the middle of the field. My personal guideline was anything caught between the numbers, such as crossing routes, digs, or skinny posts. I also decided the pass had to go beyond 5 air yards from the line of scrimmage. Out of 447 attempts, 94 passes qualified. That equates to…oh man, I was told there would be no math…only around 21 percent. Of those 94 passes into the middle, 68 were completions to 23 incomplete (more math), with 3 interceptions. 17 of these passes went to a tight end. Of those incomplete passes, there were a few PI calls and a drop.

So Jeff’s guest on Monday was right on the money there. It’s a concern, because all I’ve heard about Arthur Smith is his use of two tight ends and taking advantage of the middle of the field. Now, when Russell did use that area, it was usually for a big play resulting in chunks of yards. It just didn’t happen all that often.

For overall play, there were many positive things. Wilson can still drop a deep go ball in a bucket, and George Pickens should feast on plays dialed up for him. Despite talk of age, Russell Wilson does not play “old”. He still has fresh legs, quick feet, and the ball has plenty of zip. When he decided to run, he was fast and made big gains. His accuracy was also on point. I rarely saw a bad throw where it was just an outright miss. He usually delivered a very catchable ball that gave the receiver an opportunity to make a move. Wilson also beat Mahomes head to head, and went throw for throw with Josh Allen. Beating a top tier QB led team would be a nice change to see in Pittsburgh.

For the not so positive, he rarely did a 3, 5, or 7 step drop, hit his back foot, and delivered the ball. Most of the time, it was backyard ball reminiscent of Roethlisberger when the play would break down and he would scramble around for an eternity before attempting a throw or taking a sack. And the lost fumbles number is deceiving. There were many times when Russ lost the ball but the Broncos managed to get it back. It seemed like the ball was loose almost every time he was hit behind the line. He also checked down constantly. 62 percent of Wilson’s throws last year were 5 yards or less. Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren will need their own personal Jugs machine dedicated just to throw footballs at them in camp to get their hands ready for the workload coming their way.

The only truly bad game he played was his last against the Patriots on Christmas Eve. That game held most of his outright errant throws, but by that time, the relationship with his coach had deteriorated to the point of being dysfunctional. I don’t personally know the man, but from a distance, Sean Payton seems to have a personality that I would describe as “punchable.” Russell with his almost too positive and upbeat vibes was never going to work with Payton. Mike Tomlin is a guy people want to be around, not only as a coach, but as a person. That environment might allow Wilson to relax and perform better than he did last year.

I never saw bad enough play to warrant a benching or being cut. Obviously, Sean Payton wanted his plays ran on schedule just how they were drawn up, and Wilson just isn’t that dude. Ryan Tannenhill thrived in Arthur Smith’s offense because he ran it exactly as called. It’s a possibility that the same things that drove Payton crazy might do the same to Arthur Smith.

Wilson’s penchant for scrambling and holding onto the ball forever is going to stress pass protection to the max, and…checks notes… Dan Moore Jr. is still at Left Tackle as of this writing. That’s not an ideal combination. One thing we all have seen is there is no faster way to get in Tomlin’s doghouse than to put the ball on the ground. Russell Wilson will have to fix the problem of every sack turning into a fumble, or Justin Fields will find himself as QB1 much faster than even he probably expects.

Regardless of who ends up starting the majority of games this year, it has to be better than what we’ve seen lately. Both Wilson and Fields have the ability for dynamic play, and whoever ends up starting the majority of the games, it will be exciting to watch. I hope.