Ahead of the start of the 2019 regular season, Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar has been compiling his lists of the 11 best players at each position. To cap off the series, he put together the top 100 players in the NFL today.
Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson and linebacker Bobby Wagner have cracked the top 10.
Here’s what Farrar had to say about each, with Wilson landing at No. 9 overall and Wagner at No. 6.
No. 9 Russell Wilson, QB, Seattle Seahawks
By: Doug Farrar, Touchdown Wire
Wilson led the NFL with 34 touchdown passes in 2017 and came back in 2018 with 35, but there could have been more in an offense less risk-averse than Seattle’s. He did benefit from a functional offensive line for the first time in years last season, though he was still pressured on 39.2% of his throws; only Josh Allen, Deshaun Watson and Josh Rosen had a higher pressure percentage. Typically, Wilson thrived when others would wilt, throwing 10 touchdowns and just three picks when pressured.
Wilson was also the NFL’s most prolific and efficient deep passer last season, with 15 touchdowns and just one interception on throws of 20 or more air yards. And he accomplished all this on just 427 pass attempts — it’s almost as if Pete Carroll and his staff should make him a more featured part of Seattle’s offensive plan. Give this guy 600 passing attempts in a season at this point in his career, and we’re having a different MVP discussion.
At times, Wilson will bail out of the pocket when he still has time, running himself into sacks and denying himself opportunities. This is likely a response to an NFL career in which he’s been running for his life behind some really bad protections. When he’s on, there’s no quarterback in the league who makes more out of a scramble drill, has a better sense of how to direct his receivers on plays outside of structure, and nails deep throws on time and on target. And for his height, Wilson maintains the ability to make stick throws from the pocket as he has since his college days.
No. 6 Bobby Wagner, LB, Seattle Seahawks
By: Doug Farrar, Touchdown Wire
Being a great linebacker is about making big plays, yes, but it’s primarily about loss prevention. Your job is to keep the defense in step with the fewest mistakes possible. And no modern linebacker is more mistake-proof than Wagner. Last season, he was involved in 999 snaps, with 108 tackles and 34 assists. He had 41 stops and didn’t allow a single touchdown on 71 pass targets. Perhaps the most amazing stat from Wagner’s 2018 season, though, was his two missed tackles. When you’re tackling with the range demanded of today’s linebacker, to make the plays you’re supposed to make without errors to that degree is truly impressive.
Wagner plays seamlessly everywhere from the middle to the slot because he’s so good at reading his keys, and his technical understanding of his position allows him to take perfect angles to the ballcarrier. In coverage, he rolls to his assignments with a minimum of movement, he’s a great blitzer who gets through his gaps quickly, and his tackling technique is obviously without peer. Wagner has been the standard-bearer at his position over the last couple of seasons, and to call him the best linebacker in the NFL is simply to state the obvious.
