Broncos HC Sean Payton Offers Frank First Impression of Russell Wilson
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The Denver Broncos have progressed from the strength and conditioning portion of the offseason training program to on-field football activities. On Thursday, the Broncos held organized team activities (OTAs) featuring a spirited practice session.
Quarterback Russell Wilson was out on the grass, operating the new scheme the Broncos are assimilating under head coach Sean Payton. After practice, Coach Payton provided his assessment of how Wilson is handling the installs of the playbook and how the veteran quarterback looked.
“These guys are doing well, and he’s picking it up—the timing and all of those things that are required," Payton said Thursday of Wilson. "For the first five weeks, we were just lifting and running. Now we're getting into some football activity. We are ahead of schedule on the practice. He's picking it up good—he looks good and looks sharp.”
This should be music to Broncos Country's ears. As an acolyte of the Bill Parcells school of football psychology, Payton's compliments come only if they're earned, and he's unafraid of using subtle criticism to motivate a player if required, even publicly.
Thus, when Payton says that Wilson is "picking it up" nicely and that he "looks good, looks sharp," take it to the bank. Just don't jump the shark in drawing conclusions beyond the scope of where the Broncos are currently, including Wilson.
Entering his 12th NFL season, and his second in Denver, Wilson is a quarterback humbled. The nine-time Pro Bowler struggled mightily in 2022 and was a big reason the Broncos finished as a five-win team.
However, there's a lot more of the winning stuff on Wilson's decorated NFL resume than that of the losing, and it would avail him not to hold onto last season's abasement. Just like on gameday, a quarterback must have a short memory because the NFL comes at you fast, and if your mind's eye is focused on the rear-view, it's a recipe for getting your face rearranged, literally and figuratively speaking.
"I think, first of all, you always reflect on every year, ever since you've come into the National Football League, the things that you can always do better, the things that you can always work on," Wilson said after Thursday's practice. "I think also, mentally, there's always the journey. There's always the journey of the highs and lows. There's been a lot of highs. There's been some tough lows, but adversity—you have to be ready to handle it all. And I'll be ready to handle it."
Even if all of the Broncos' wildest dreams come true in 2023, it will come with its fair share of adversity and obstacles to overcome. Think of how much Denver had to overcome in 2015 to emerge victorious in Super Bowl 50. A quarterback, especially, must have his mind right in order to create such success and handle it, too.
Wilson dealt with some minor injuries last year, including a sketchy knee. But he looks fit as a fiddle, and perhaps even a little lighter than he was last season.
"You always want to be in the best shape of your life. I'm ready for that," Wilson said. "I feel better than ever."
The destiny of the 2023 Broncos will hinge on just how well Payton is able to suss the former Pro Bowler out of Wilson. Nathaniel Hackett proved woefully ill-equipped and incapable of doing so, but the Broncos need to get a return on the massive investment they made in Wilson, which had to be, in large part, the impetus to ownership spending big and making some significant sacrifices to land Payton.
If one is inclined to believe the rumor mill, Wilson pined for the opportunity to be coached by Payton dating back to his last few years in Seattle. Although it took a twist of fate, the Football Gods granted Wilson this blessing. In his first presser since Payton was hired, it didn't take Wilson long to genuflect to his new head coach.
"First of all, I think Sean is one of the best coaches to ever coach this game," Wilson said. "He's intense, he's focused, [and] he's such a great teacher of the game. So all of us are learning every day more information. Just learning how to play the game the right way, how to practice at the highest level, and that's what we're focused on right now."
Payton's arrival has ushered in a number of changes at Broncos HQ, including a more buttoned-down media policy. But from a philosophical standpoint, Payton wants his team to maintain a one-day-at-a-time focus.
"I think the thing we focused on is just one day at a time," Wilson said. "And always believing, always focused on the details, always focused on what we can do together as a team, and just being the best version [of you] every day. Bringing that every day, bringing that level of intensity every day. I'm looking forward to that."
After the chaos of last season, where so much got lost in the shuffle, having such a detail-oriented coach who extracts every possible lesson from even the slightest nuance is like manna from heaven. If Hackett was chaos, Payton is order.
I'll genuflect to that.
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