Russell Wilson and red zone efficiency issues are nothing new
By Keith Myers
The Seattle Seahawks were bad in the red zone in 2016, but they’ve never been a good red zone team since Russell Wilson became quarterback.
The Seattle Seahawks simply were not good at converting red zone chances into touchdown last season. This is something that came up yesterday in my review of Seattle’s offense. They were only able to convert 46.4 percent of their trips inside the red zone into touchdowns, which is fairly terrible.
That led to questions about how that compared to previous seasons. Lets take a look how how the Seahawks have fared in the red zone since they drafted Russell Wilson.
| Year | RZ TD% | NFL Rank |
| 2016 | 46.4 | 28th |
| 2015 | 55.1 | 16th |
| 2014 | 52.5 | 19th |
| 2013 | 56.1 | 13th |
| 2012 | 57.4 | 10th |
The first thing that jumps out is that the Seahawks have never been a great red zone team in the Russell Wilson era. In his rookie year they barely snuck into the top third of the NFL. Other than that they’ve been a middle-tier red zone team before last season.
A QB with the mobility of Russell Wilson shouldn’t have difficulty converting possessions into TDs, and yet he does. I believe this is actually fairly easy to explain.
First, the red zone is the area of the field where Wilson’s height will be most likely to matter. Space is compressed, passing windows and much tighter, and there isn’t room for his improvisational skills to truly take over.
The other part is more philosophical. The Seahawks under Pete Carroll are extremely risk-adverse on the field. They’d rather settle for a FG than risk a turnover. Wilson isn’t willing to throw to a covered receiver in the end zone, even if it happens to be Jimmy Graham. That choice will always lead to fewer TDs, fewer turnovers, and more field goals.
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Look a little closer at the data above and you’ll see a disturbing trend. The Seahawks have actually gotten worse in the red zone each season, except for the offensive surge that happened in the second half of the 2015 season.
This begs the obvious question: Why? Why would Seattle’s red-zone efficiency decline even as Russell Wilson developed as a quarterback? That question isn’t an easy one to answer.
While there are likely plenty of factors, I believe the largest one is a shift in the talent around Wilson. The yearly degradation of the offensive line has been well documented, but there is more to this problem than just that.
The switch from Sidney Rice to Jermaine Kearse certainly isn’t helping. Golden Tate was flawed as a receiver, but he had a knack for battling his way into the end zone when he caught the ball close to the goal line. Tyler Lockett is a better player between the 20s, but he lacks Tate’s ability to fight his way into the end zone.
This is clearly something the Seahawks need to address going forward. Better integration of Jimmy Graham into the red zone offense will be a start. So will getting bigger receivers like Tyler McEvoy on the field more often and improving the offensive line.
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Overall though, Wilson’s own limitations will likely keep Seattle’s offense from ever being elite at converting red zone trips into touchdowns. They can certainly be better though, and they must concentrate on upgrading their personnel to do so.