Russell Wilson is the Best of the 2012 Draft Class So Far (By a Mile)
Nov 17, 2013; Seattle, WA, USA; Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson (3) scrambles away from pressure by the Minnesota Vikings during the fourth quarter at CenturyLink Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports
Much like the 2004 draft class that included Eli Manning, Phillip Rivers and Ben Roethlisberger, the 2012 draft class includes a trio of quarterbacks that are destined to be compared forever. It also includes Ryan Tannehill, but Mr. Tannehill has some work to do if he wants to be mentioned in the same breath as the threesome of Robert Griffin III, Russell Wilson and Andrew Luck. Last year the debate as to who the best quarterback of this group of three raged throughout the year, although Wilson didn’t really emerge until the second half. This debate is far from over. It is going to visited and revisited dozens of times. It’s going to be a prime time tourist destination for writers for years to come. Trust me; I am 100% cognizant of the lack of creativity that goes into writing a comparison post about the three great quarterbacks of the 2012 draft class. It’s not really my first and it probably won’t be my last.
What I think is interesting is how the perception differs from the reality. Most football fans (outside of Seattle) would tell you that RG3 has struggled this year, and Luck and Wilson have both excelled. They would probably go on to say that Luck has been a little bit better than Wilson. They might even cite the Colts victory over the Seahawks as proof of this. Beyond the fact that you can’t judge the worth of a quarterback by wins and losses (quarterbacks are immensely important but this is still a team game), the fact Russell Wilson has led the Seahawks to a 10-1 record is more significant than the fact he lost one game to a team that happened to be quarterbacked by Andrew Luck. At the end of the day, anyone who tells you that Andrew Luck is better than Russell Wilson right now is wrong. He might be someday, but he isn’t now. It’s not even particularly close. Here’s how the three quarterbacks stack up in 2013:
| Player | ATT |
COMP
COMP%
Yards
Yard/Att
TD
INT
Passer Rating
PFF Grade
Russell Wilson
275
176
64.0%
2362
8.6
19
6
105.1
+21.1
Andrew Luck
347
206
59.4%
2430
7.0
14
6
87.0
+13.2
Robert Griffin III
372
222
59.7%
2714
7.3
14
10
83.6
-0.8
I’m sure I’m preaching to the choir here, but there’s not a world where this is close. I haven’t included rushing stats here, but Russell Wilson has more yards on the ground than either of his competitors here. Looking at these numbers, with the exception of the PFF grade, Luck looks closer to the struggling Griffin III than the surging Russell Wilson. The case for Russell Wilson as the best quarterback of his class is even stronger when you throw last year’s stats into the mix and show the career numbers of the three quarterbacks so far:
| Player | ATT |
COMP
COMP%
Yards
Yard/Att
TD
INT
Passer Rating
PFF Grade
Russell Wilson
668
428
64.1%
5480
8.2
46
16
102.1
+60.5
Andrew Luck
974
505
56.0%
6804
7.0
37
24
80.2
+21.3
Robert Griffin III
765
480
62.7%
5914
7.7
34
15
93.2
+29.8
These numbers are a little unfair to RG3 because they don’t recognize his impressive accomplishments running the ball in 2012. Even so, Russell Wilson has been better than the other two quarterbacks by a pretty enormous margin.
As I said above I know I’m preaching to the choir. If you watch the Seahawks you know just how good Russell Wilson is. Perhaps you have some Colts or Redskins fans you want to settle an argument with or some Pro Bowl votes for Wilson you need to lobby for though. The numbers are objective and they are pretty much indisputable. Someone could make a case for the value of Luck’s volume production, but that’s a flimsy argument given Wilson’s superior efficiency. Seahawks fans already know how good Wilson is and they also probably know that he has been better than Luck or Griffin III. They might not have known the extent of his dominance over his peers. It never hurts to sit back and be thankful for the franchise quarterback that John Schneider bestowed upon this team at the cost of only a 3rd round draft pick. Russell Wilson is quite simply the best. Go Hawks.