Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson completed his 9th NFL season.
He has been a consistent performer and leader for his team.
His size is small by NFL quarterback standards; he is 5’11” and 215 pounds.
But he has a big heart and game.
The question has already arisen as to whether he has done enough to be a Hall of Famer at this stage in his career.
It’s difficult to evaluate active players, and Wilson is only 32 years old so presumably he has years ahead of him in the NFL.
The answer in this case is that Wilson is not yet a Hall of Famer, but he is well on his way to earning the golden jacket.
Here’s why.
1. Longevity
As mentioned, Wilson has been in the league for 9 seasons.
He was drafted by the Seahawks in the third round of the 2012 NFL Draft (75th pick overall).
Pete Carroll admitted recently that GM John Schneider had to convince him that Wilson was the right draft pick for the Seahawks.
“John convinced me on Russell. He was on him early, then he came back from seeing him late in his season at Wisconsin, I think against Michigan State, and he was so enthused about him. I watched a lot of tape on him, and John was right on. Then he got here, and he was everything John said he was.”
Russell Wilson was the NFL Rookie of the Year in 2012.
Wilson has started in every single game since he put on a Seahawks uniform in 2012; that is 144 games.
Most consecutive starts by NFL quarterbacks. (active streaks)
1. Russell Wilson 144
2. Don’t
3. Care pic.twitter.com/Ece9pYBXFE— Sensei Mohammad (@SeaGoat03) January 20, 2021
He has been blessed not to be sidelined by major injuries and has been able to play through whatever issues he had.
Wilson is somewhat of an Iron Man in that respect.
If the trend continues for a couple more seasons, he will certainly cement his longevity and durability in a very physical sport.
2. Championships
Wilson is a Super Bowl Champion.
The Seahawks won the Lombardi Trophy after the 2013 season, concluding an outstanding sophomore season for Russell Wilson.
Arguably, the Seahawks should be back-to-back champions; they fell 1 yard short in the Super Bowl the following year against the Patriots.
He is a Pro Bowler, selected 8 times in his 9 years.
3. Dual Threat
Russell Wilson is one of the best quarterbacks ever as a dual threat.
He preceded the Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson generation and has been racking up impressive passing and rushing yards for years.
Wilson has 33,946 passing yards over his career (regular season games) and 4,506 rushing yards.
He has thrown 267 TD passes and rushed for 21 TDs.
Russell Wilson needs 39 passing touchdowns in 2021 in order to tie Peyton Manning for the most passing touchdowns by a QB in his first 10 seasons.
— 𝓚𝓲𝓷𝓰𝓓𝓪𝓷𝓰𝓮𝓻𝓾𝓼𝓼 👑 (@kingdangeruss) January 13, 2021
Wilson is an accurate passer, throwing only 81 interceptions in his 9 seasons.
When his team gets to the playoffs, Wilson flourishes in the limelight.
He has played in 16 playoff games finishing with a win-loss record of 9-7.
Wilson has thrown for nearly 3,800 yards in the playoffs with 25 TD passes and an uncharacteristically high number of 12 INTs.
5 of those INTs were thrown in 3 games of the 2014 playoffs.
He has rushed for 527 yards and 3 TDs in the playoffs.
With one or two more seasons of steady performances, Russell Wilson will definitely be a Hall of Famer when his career is over.
NEXT: Aaron Rodgers vs. Russell Wilson (Who Is Better?)
