In his introductory news conference on Monday, Sean Payton explained solving Russell Wilson begins with comfortability, comparing his struggles to a karaoke nightmare.
“None of us want to be at a karaoke bar with a song we don’t know the words to,” he said.
It’s a clever analogy because Wilson and the Broncos never found their offensive rhythm, primarily because he seemed lost in their system.
Wilson’s apparent confusion may tie to the Broncos attempting to transform him into a prototypical pocket passer, which differs from his specialty, throwing on the move.
According to ESPN’s Bill Barnwell, Wilson rolled out on 11.1 percent of his dropbacks in 2020 and posted career highs in passing touchdowns (40) and completion percentage (68.8 percent).
In 2022, he only rolled out 7.8 percent of the time, and his numbers plummeted. Through 15 starts, he recorded career lows in passing TDs (16) and completion percentage (60.5 percent).
Denver needs to use more play-action too. In 2020, Wilson ran 124 play-action pass attempts, while he ran 112 in Denver.
Although Payton’s background is with pocket-passer Drew Brees, he already outlined his plans to fix Wilson.
“I’d want a cutup today of Russell’s pass plays from 30 or more yards…I’d want to see schemes he was comfortable with,” Payton told FS1’s Colin Cowherd before Denver hired him.
It appears Payton already developed some ideas and maybe they’ll reinvigorate Wilson.
