Denver Broncos QB Russell Wilson is coming off the worst season of his NFL career, but help has arrived in the form of new Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton heading into the 2023 NFL season. Is Wilson in store for a big bounce-back year for fantasy football? Let’s take a closer look.
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Russell Wilson’s Fantasy Outlook
Wilson’s 2022 season is one of the most head-scratching campaigns from a perennial Pro Bowl-caliber QB in recent memory. His completion percentage (60.5%), QB rating (84.4), and passing TDs (16) in 2022 were all career-lows and played a large role in the Broncos finishing dead last in the league in points scored.
Simply put, last year was a disaster.
Now, it’s time for a clean slate. The team moved on from Nathaniel Hackett and brought in Payton as the new head coach in the Mile High City.
Payton comes with a lengthy track record of excellence on the offensive side of the football. He was the architect behind Drew Brees rattling off 12 straight 4,000-yard passing seasons, which helped power a New Orleans Saints offensive unit that was a force for over a decade.
Payton has the tools with tight end Greg Dulcich and wide receivers Jerry Jeudy and Courtland Sutton to construct a potent passing attack this season.
The only question mark that remains is whether or not a QB who has built a Hall of Fame-type career excelling in playing off script and extending plays can flourish in an offensive system that is predicated on timing and precision.
Is Russell Wilson a Great Value at His Current Draft Day Price?
Russ finished the 2022 season as the fantasy QB16 (which was the lowest of his career), but his current ADP is QB18 off the board.
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Most would agree that everything that could go wrong did go wrong for Russ last season. That is what has led to him currently being drafted below his career fantasy floor, even with Payton as his new head coach. It still doesn’t make a whole lot of sense.
Wilson is a great buy at his current ADP because most of the risk is gone with an 12th-round price tag. With the arrival of Payton in Mile High, you should expect a bounce-back year for Wilson in 2023.