Broncos QB Russell Wilson named 'overrated' player ahead of 2022 NFL season

Russell Wilson is on the cusp of beginning his first season as the starting quarterback of the Denver Broncos following a blockbuster offseason trade from the Seattle Seahawks that caught many by surprise. 

On paper, Wilson is one of the truly elite signal-callers in the game today. Per Pro-Football-Reference numbers, the nine-time Pro Bowl selection who possesses a single Super Bowl ring is fourth on the all-time list with a 101.8 career passer rating, and the 33-year-old is seemingly fully recovered from the finger injury that cost him playing time last fall and impacted him through the second half of the campaign. 

Thus, it wasn't all that surprising to see Wilson come in at No. 13 overall for ESPN's top 100 players ahead of the upcoming season. 

"Wilson's 316 combined passing and rushing touchdowns (292 pass, 24 rush) are second most by a player in their first 10 seasons in NFL history -- only Peyton Manning had more with 322 (306 pass, 16 rush)," ESPN explained while predicting that Wilson will throw for 4,089 passing yards and 30 touchdowns during his first year with the Broncos. However, NFL analyst Matt Bowen of ESPN said in a different piece that he thinks Wilson is a bit overrated on the list. 

"I get the upside of Wilson playing in the Broncos' new offensive scheme," Bowen wrote. "There will be motion and misdirection, and it'll be more pass-heavy. And there is real talent at the receiving spots in Denver. However, ranking Wilson ahead of Tom Brady and Joe Burrow gave me some pause here based on the tape I watched from last season."

That's a fair assessment considering Brady led the entire NFL last season with 485 completions, 5,316 passing yards, and 43 passing touchdowns. While Brady turned 45 years old earlier this month, it's safe to assume coaches and executives from around the league would take the seven-time Super Bowl champion who is No. 20 in the ESPN rankings over Wilson for just the 2022 campaign if given the chance.