Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson thinks he has a chance to be remembered as the greatest quarterback in NFL history.
“Why can’t I be the best quarterback to ever play the game one day?’ Wilson told ESPN. “I’m not right now. I’ve got a long way to go. But one day, you know?”
Wilson is right that he has a long way to go. As a passer, Wilson isn’t close to the best in the NFL right now, let alone the best ever. He’s never led the league in any major statistical category and hasn’t even been particularly close. Wilson has a Super Bowl ring, but so does Trent Dilfer. You don’t need to be a great quarterback to earn a Super Bowl ring with a great defense.
At age 25, however, Wilson has plenty of time to get better. What he’s already accomplished in his first two NFL seasons is impressive, and from all accounts Wilson is the kind of player who backs up his talk about wanting to be great with the necessary amount of hard work.
Wilson is part of a strong group of young quarterbacks who have entered the NFL in the last few years, along with Andrew Luck, Cam Newton, Robert Griffin III and Colin Kaepernick. Some day Wilson may turn out to be the best of that bunch and among the best of all time. But he has a long way to go.