Training Camp Primer: Will Seahawks Finally Open Up Offense for Russell Wilson?
Preparing for his ninth NFL season, Russell Wilson already holds every meaningful passing record in the Seahawks franchise record books. He's also put himself in exclusive company with some of the best quarterbacks in NFL history.
Last year, Wilson joined Peyton Manning, Brett Favre, Dan Marino, and Aaron Rodgers as one of the five fastest quarterbacks to reach the 200 career touchdown passes milestone and also became the first player in NFL history with 200 passing touchdowns and 15 or more rushing touchdowns in his first eight seasons. He's been selected to six Pro Bowls and after years of being snubbed, he finally garnered Second-Team All-Pro recognition in 2019.
But as great as Wilson has been, particularly over the last three seasons, many analysts and fans believe he could be even better if coach Pete Carroll wasn't so dedicated to establishing the run and would open up the offense for his star signal caller.
Since 2017, Wilson has thrown more touchdown passes than any other quarterback, finishing in the top five in that category each of the past three seasons. During that span, he's only thrown the eighth-most passes, however, with each of the seven quarterbacks in front of him throwing at least 15 less touchdown passes. With Patrick Mahomes maybe as the lone exception, nobody has been superior in terms of efficiency.
Which begs the question: Considering how elite Wilson has been for an extended period of time, why don't the Seahawks want the ball in his hands more often? What's holding the team back from unleashing him as the Chiefs have done with Mahomes?
Earlier this month in an interview with John Clayton of ESPN 710, Carroll once again tackled those very questions with the same answers he's been offering for quite some time. While he believes Wilson is playing at a higher level than ever before, he doesn't seem keen on the idea of throwing the football 50 times a game.
“Russell is at the best of his game that he’s ever been,” Carroll told Clayton. “And in that, we want him to have more opportunity to be the factor of the game and control the game. But that doesn’t mean you throw the football all the time to do that.”
Throughout his coaching career, Carroll has always placed an emphasis on a balanced offense built around a power run game. Since Wilson arrived as a third-round pick in 2012, the passing game has been centered around explosive downfield throws with a high degree of success off play action.
Though Carroll's offensive approach isn't likely to change much as he approaches his 70th birthday, a few moves made during the offseason suggest the Seahawks could open things up a bit.
Viewed as the favorite to replace Justin Britt, who was released shortly after April's draft, B.J. Finney surrendered just two sacks in over 1,000 offensive snaps during the last four years with the Steelers. Though it's a small sample size and he isn't the physical mauler in the run game Britt was, he held his own in 13 spot starts and should be an upgrade keeping Wilson clean.
At the skill positions, Wilson helped recruit potential Hall of Fame tight end Greg Olsen to Seattle back in February, adding another big, athletic target to his arsenal. The Seahawks also signed Phillip Dorsett in free agency, bringing another speedy receiver into the fold to team up with Tyler Lockett and rising phenom DK Metcalf.
As training camp approaches, there's also a chance the Seahawks may not be done reinforcing Wilson's supporting cast. Rumors have been swirling for months about the team's apparent interest in Antonio Brown, who the quarterback invited to workout at his personal practice field, while Josh Gordon has applied for reinstatement and could be an option to re-sign down the road as well.
With those personnel changes and Wilson himself clamoring for a more up-tempo offensive attack earlier this offseason, the ball could be put in his court more often, particularly with the weapons he has around him. Just don't expect Seattle's scheme to suddenly emulate Kansas City with him slinging passes all over the field 50 times per game.
“We’re not going to take anything away from Russell’s ability to produce – we want to maximize his opportunities,” Carroll remarked. “So whatever this ‘Russell cook’ thing is about, I don’t know what it’s about, but he is at his best, he is in the most command he’s ever been, and he and [offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer] and the offensive staff have worked this offseason to a point where we’re ready to unveil it, the best version of us. And that means the best version of Russ.”
Guiding the Seahawks to the playoffs eight times in 10 years and two Super Bowl appearances, Carroll has found great success using his formula and remains reluctant to transition towards a more passing-centric attack. But with just one playoff win since 2017 and one of the best quarterbacks in the game at the controls, the calls for a different offensive approach have only grown louder.
Now that Wilson has made his thoughts on the issue known publicly, though his team will always be run-oriented, Carroll may finally cave in a bit and put greater emphasis on Seattle's offense running through its franchise quarterback in 2020. Simply being more aggressive throwing the ball on early downs, particularly in the first half of games, could be the difference between another early playoff exit and a Super Bowl return.
