Wisconsin Badgers on SI List of Top 400 NFL Players

Quarterback

Russell Wilson, Seattle Seahawks, 12th QB, 139th overall

So I have no idea what SI was thinking on this one.  No way Wilson is just the 12th best QB in the NFL right now.  Clearly Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Matt Ryan (based on 2016 and half the Super Bowl) and Drew Brees should be ahead of Wilson.  But the SI list has the likes of Joe Flacco, Matthew Stafford, and Eli Manning ahead of Wilson.  Frankly, I’d put Wilson ahead of Andrew Luck because I hate sacks and turnovers and want my QB on the field.

Part of the problem assessing QBs is the high volume of statistics that don’t  always control for game situation.  Sam Bradford led the NFL in completion percentage in 2016 but was 18th in yards/attempt.  Play enough fantasy football and you learn quickly the most valuable commodity is a QB inflating his stats in junk time in a game he’s losing badly (The Bortles Effect).  When completely healthy Wilson is a dynamic, efficient, dual threat QB.  I can’t penalize him because the offensive line in Seattle is…unconventional.  I think the Wilson rating while wrong, is reflective of a recency bias in that Wilson’s lowest total QBR and traditional QB Rating were in 2016.  He also had the 2nd fewest TD passes and most INTs (thanks mainly to one game in Green Bay) of his NFL career last season.