The Pittsburgh Steelers added quarterbacks Russell Wilson and Justin Fields in an attempt to improve the passing attack. What kind of production can Steelers fans expect?
Last year’s situation under center was untenable. The Pittsburgh Steelers badly needed to move past the Kenny Pickett/Mason Rudolph era and did so by bringing in two quarterbacks this offseason: Russell Wilson and Justin Fields.
In doing so, Pittsburgh has granted a playoff-ready roster a prospective upgrade at quarterback and some insurance, too. Wilson is supposed to start, but Fields is looming. Whether he’s a true backup or plays a non-quarterback role is yet to be seen, but if Wilson struggles, Fields will see the field.
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Both come with a laundry list of concerns, but few are upset about how the Steelers handled the position. What can the Pittsburgh faithful expect production-wise from the passing game?
Bleacher Report recently projected stat lines for each starting quarterback. For the purposes of this exercise, Wilson was given the green light.
“This analyst would love to project Justin Fields here instead of Russell Wilson – the former has a higher ceiling, and Fields’ escapability adds another dimension to the Pittsburgh offense,” Gary Davenport wrote.
“However, Wilson offers the Steelers a higher floor, head coach Mike Tomlin has already stated that he will open training camp as the team’s starter, and while appearing on 93.7 The Fan, Mark Kaboly of The Athletic said that Wilson has been impressive on the practice field.”
Davenport ultimately projected Wilson to throw for 3,295 passing yards, 27 touchdowns, 10 and 10 interceptions on a 66.5 completion percentage. He throws in 327 yards and three scores on the ground, too.
While those numbers may seem low, and perhaps are impacted by Davenport’s preference for Fields, those are strong totals for Wilson. The days of him throwing for 4,000 yards are likely over, and approaching 30 touchdowns seems unlikely, too.
Pittsburgh is not hiding the fact that it prefers to run the football, adding physicality up front and offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, who is more than happy to pound the rock. These, naturally, will be a limiting factor on Wilson’s production.
If all goes to plan and complementary football makes its return, Wilson will be put in position to win. Anything less than a convincing performance could land him back on the bench, where he ended last season.
