Who Is the NFL’s Best Quarterback: Russ Is Cooking

One of the loudest movements that has been brewing in Seattle and throughout the NFL during the past few seasons is “Let Russ Cook.” The Seahawks have one of the most talented quarterbacks the NFL has ever seen in Russell Wilson, and, for his entire career, he has been held back by being forced to lead one of the most run-heavy offenses in the NFL. In all of Wilson’s seasons in the league, prior to this season, the Seahawks had only one season in which they were in the top half of the league in percentage of pass plays. But the supporters of the “Let Russ Cook” movement believed that if Russ was put in an offense that maximized his talent instead of having him hand the ball off most plays, he would thrive. These supporters were proven correct when Brian Shottenheimer, the Seahawks offensive coordinator, decided that this season, Russell Wilson would be allowed to cook.

The results were immediate. In only three weeks, Russell Wilson threw for 308 yards per game along with 14 passing touchdowns and only one pick. Though only one of the three defenses Wilson played that week ranked in the top half of the league in yards per game, those three games are astounding regardless of the opponent. While Wilson has definitely slowed down since his insanely hot start, he has still been great. In Wilson’s single game against the 49ers, one of the top defenses in the NFL, he still threw for 261 yards and four touchdowns. Heading into the Seahawks’ Week 12 matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles, Wilson is on pace for 48 passing touchdowns and 4778 passing yards, which would put him in the top five for passing touchdowns and top 30 for passing yards in a season. When you pair those numbers with the fact that this is Wilson’s first season cooking, it’s hard not to think of the absurd heights Wilson could reach.

Even though Wilson is just reaching his statistical bests this season, we must not forget that Wilson is the most proven winner in the NFL right now not named Tom Brady. No one would make the argument that Wilson has more victories than Brady, but Wilson did just break Brady’s record for the most wins through the first nine years of a quarterback’s career. Wilson’s crowning achievement as a winner is definitely his Super Bowl XLVIII win, and if the Seahawks are able to put together a competent defense, more Lombardi trophies will be on their way to Seattle.

On the other hand, the biggest reason against Mahomes being the best quarterback is something that he is not even in control of: how absurdly lucky he got with the situation he was drafted into. Mahomes was seen as a raw prospect coming into the NFL, and while that definitely was not true, he still was able to learn the ropes for a year behind former first overall pick Alex Smith. Mahomes’s coach, Andy Reid, is a top two offensive coach in NFL history, behind only Bill Walsh, who created what we now know NFL offenses to be. Also, Mahomes has the best supporting cast in the league. His number one receiver Tyreek Hill is arguably the best wide receiver and deep threat in the NFL right now, as well as the fastest player in the NFL right now and maybe even of all-time. His “safety valve” Travis Kelce is the best receiving tight end in the league and probably a top 10 tight end in NFL history. When you put all of these talents together, you get one of the best situations possible for a quarterback. While Mahomes’s career feats so far have been astounding, we must not forget that he has been working with quite possibly the best supporting cast a quarterback has ever seen. It is hard not to get excited about the idea of Russell Wilson being in Mahomes’s position and putting up the same, if not better, stats and absurd highlights.

When the most under-utilized quarterback in the league finally gets used properly, he puts up the insane stats that Russell Wilson has. With this season, it has become clear that Russell Wilson is not just better than Patrick Mahomes, but is the best quarterback in the NFL.