Analyzing Sean Payton's Curious Remarks on Broncos QBs Wilson, Stidham
If you found it difficult to watch Russell Wilson and the Denver Broncos offense last year, Sean Payton feels your pain. The Broncos' new head coach — tasked with the Wilson reclamation project — found it hard to watch 2022's film.
"It wasn’t good," Payton said on Monday from the Annual League Meeting. "Wasn’t good on offense, that’s for sure. It was hard film to watch.”
People acted as if Payton had to really get acquainted with Wilson, or at least reckon with his strengths and weaknesses as a quarterback before he could willingly accept the Broncos' head-coaching job. However, this isn't Payton's first rodeo, and his experience with Wilson ran much deeper than Nathaniel Hackett's when the QB arrived via trade from Seattle last spring.
“I’ve worked with Russell," Payton said. "I was at the Pro Bowl in Florida years ago and coached him. Shoot, we’ve played two or three different playoff games against him. I was very familiar with him.”
In all the press Payton has done since becoming the new head coach in Denver, his remarks on Wilson have been pretty thin. Outside of his many-a-truths-are-said-in-jest anecdote about Wilson importuning Drew Brees during Denver's courtship of Payton, the offensive-minded head coach hasn't been all that vocal about his view of Wilson.
That's why Payton's comments in Arizona at the Annual League Meeting are worth digging into.
“He’s super competitive. He’s won at a high level," Payton said of Wilson. "He’s someone that I think moves well. He’s someone that I think works extremely hard. It’s hard to find guys with all those traits."
Payton is fully cognizant of how bad Wilson was last year and how in-over-their-head Hackett and his staff were, especially with regard to the offense. When an offense is that laughably bad, it leads to a five-win season, and many people share complicity for it.
"Now, I watched, with every one of you, the season that took place a year ago," Payton said. "There’s probably a little bit of dirt on a lot of people’s hands. When you win five games, it is what it is. I don’t think I need to elaborate any more."
Payton convinced the Walton/Penner ownership group to spend big on the offensive line when free agency opened, signing top-tier tackle Mike McGlinchey and guard Ben Powers. The Broncos also threw some money at physically-bruising (but surprisingly versatile) running back Samaje Perine because establishing a potent ground game will be one of the first steps in bringing Wilson back from the brink at 34 years old.
“I’m in favor of it," Payton said of the run game.
The Broncos spent big to protect what many analysts believe is their 'No. 1 asset' — Wilson. But just in case, Denver hedged that bet by signing quarterback Jarrett Stidham, a backup that Payton believes has starter upside.
“I think he’s a No. 2 whose arrow is moving in a direction where we feel like he can become an NFL starter in our league," Payton said of Stidham. "The evaluation was pretty crystal clear for all of us. I think he's someone that's going to be great in the room. He's smart. Quietly, that was an important sign for us.”
Payton is doing his level best not to make it about Stidham, but it's clear the coach "quietly" views him as an "important" piece to the 2023 (and beyond) puzzle. Even if Wilson drastically improves under Payton, and Broncos fans get to see the same player that led so many Seattle teams to the playoffs calling the signals at Empower Field, it's important to remember that he's entering his age-35 season.
What's more, after being one of the most reliable, consistently available quarterbacks in the league for nearly a decade, the injury bug cost Wilson multiple starts in each of the past two seasons. It's not a matter of if Stidham will see the field, it's when. Just ask Payton about keeping the seat warm for an aging Brees those last few years in New Orleans, when the Saints had to turn to quarterbacks like Teddy Bridgewater, Taysom Hill, and Jameis Winston to keep things afloat.
As one advances in age, not only is it easier to get injured, but the body doesn't heal as quickly. Even recovering from a sprained ankle at nearly 35 years old is quite a bit more involved, and takes more time than, say, the same injury befalling a guy at 29 or 30.
That's why Stidham is so important to the Broncos. The odds say that Payton will have to turn to him at some point, and not necessarily because Wilson's play will justify it.
Stidham's performance with the Las Vegas Raiders last year against the top-ranked defense of the San Francisco 49ers was impressive. His 300-plus-yard, three-touchdown day vs. the Niners made quite an impression on Payton.
However, Payton seemed to pump the brakes on the notion that Stidham was signed to replace Wilson as QB1 in Denver. Just because the coach said Stidham has the "upside" to start, don't be too quick to jump to conclusions that Payton is planning to supplant Wilson with him.
“What I said is I think there’s upside in this player," Payton said of Stidham. "So here we are. We have a young player. I think there’s certain players we saw in free agency—can they come in and play and start? Yes. I think you get that with Jarrett, but I also think you get a player who is still ascending. If you watch the 49ers’ game—have you seen that game? That’s impressive against a good defense. He was a priority for us—quietly. Fortunately, it worked out where we were able to get him.”
It's also possible that Payton is being more complimentary of Stidham publicly than perhaps Wilson for a reason. After all, Payton springs off the Bill Parcells coaching tree.
Parcells was known for his sophisticated football psychology. He had the uncanny ability to intuitively know how to motivate a player. Some players require coddling and praise, while others derive more motivation from criticism or the threat of competition, and Parcells could expertly discern which tact to take depending on the player.
Wilson was not challenged in any way, shape, or form last year. The signing of Stidham served somewhat as a shot across Wilson's bow in its own right. Hearing Payton lavish praise on Stidham's game publicly, whether intentional or not, is another — especially in comparison to his remarks on Wilson.
Payton doesn't strike me as a coach remotely similar to the happy-go-lucky Hackett, who relied so heavily on serendipity for any hope of success. Everything Payton says and does has a purpose. It's within the bounds of the probable that Payton is utilizing some Parcellian football psychology to get the Wilson reclamation project started weeks ahead of the Broncos' first voluntary offseason training session.
If so, it's an apt usage of Parcell's technique because Wilson has thrived before when thrown into the crucible of competing to win an NFL job. As a third-round rookie, Wilson usurped the starting job that was supposed to go to veteran Matt Flynn by virtue of the three-year deal he'd landed from Seattle a month before the 2012 draft.
However it all plays out, the Broncos' quarterback room features some new dynamics this year. Either way, Broncos fans should feel confident that Payton will be able to glean significantly better production out of the quarterback position in 2023, regardless of the player.
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