Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson might not be a first-ballot Hall of Famer currently but he could be by doing the three things that follow.
Russell Wilson is the best quarterback in Seattle Seahawks history. For anyone to debate that would be silly and likely come from a place of bias against Wilson. Wilson simply as no peer even close to his winning percentage and productivity as a quarterback in Seattle.
Wilson is also probably going to be in the Hall of Fame one day. The only that will keep him from being in Canton is if he does a complete 180 and becomes a quarterback who throws a lot more interceptions and fewer touchdowns and looks more like Mike Glennon than Joe Burrow.
Of course, Wilson does need to help the Seahawks still be good. If Wilson spends the next seven years at the helm of a mediocre or worse team, that isn’t going to be good for anyone. This leads me to point one.
3 things Seahawks QB Russell Wilson needs to do to be a first-ballot Hall of Famer
Number one: Stay with the Seahawks and keep winning games
This might sound like two things but it’s really one and the same. If Russell Wilson were to go to another team, he would lead that team to many victories; He’s that good. But his true legacy is in Seattle. A player that stays with one team and continuously wins is viewed a bit differently than a player who moves around.
Think of Brett Favre. He is one of the best ever, right? But imagine if he had never left Green Bay? He certainly would be seen differently than bouncing around the league with several different organizations. Wilson could end up with the Giants or Jets or other quarterback-hungry teams and he would be well-liked.
But he would never be as beloved or as admired as he is generally in Seattle where he has spent his first 10 years and already set a bunch of franchise records for a quarterback.
Get an MVP vote
This part is a little out of Wilson’s control, of course, but a lot of it isn’t. Wilson, for the most part, over the last several years has been much better in the first half of seasons than in the second half. And actually, Wilson has been great in the first five or six games and then not as good in the last 10 or so.
Some of this might be due to opposing defenses scheming differently for Seattle once they understand what Seattle is trying to do offensively. But an all-time great quarterback should be able to acclimate to this as well and react to the defensive changes. Seattle hasn’t done that in recent seasons.
There might be a growing weariness among NFL MVP voters just as there is when TV pundits about knowing Wilson’s great starts don’t mean a fully great year. Voters might tune Wilson out early and then check back two-thirds of the way through a season and see if he is still playing at a fantastic level.
I am just guessing here because there is no real way to explain how Wilson has never gotten an MVP vote, even by accident. He has been one of the better quarterbacks in the league over the last 7 years so his not getting an MVP vote is become a bit laughable. That needs to change and he might not need to get an MVP award but he needs to at least get a vote.
Win another Super Bowl but be the reason for it
Russell Wilson has been to back-to-back Super Bowls in his career and won one. But he will never get the credit for being the reason the Seahawks won. As 12s all know, Seattle’s defense was among the best ever in the early 2010s (OK, we all know it was the best ever) and the greatness of the unit, coupled with Russell Wilson’s ball control and Marshawn Lynch’s running, made the Seahawks one of the best teams in the league for several seasons.
Seattle’s defense will likely be viewed long-term as the reason for Seattle’s success in 2013 and 2014. Russell Wilson will be among the other reasons Seattle was good in many people’s eyes.
Quarterbacks get too much credit for winning and take too much of the blame for losing. Russell Wilson is an outlier in both Super Bowls he played in. The defense was the main reason Seattle won Super Bowl XLVIII and not Wilson. A horrible play call, and not Wilson’s throw, is the main reason Seattle lost Super Bowl XLIX.
But if Russell Wilson wants to cement his place as a first-ballot Hall of Famer – he should make the Hall of Fame either way – he needs to win another Super Bowl with the Seahawks and he needs to be the main reason Seattle wins.