Getty Denver Broncos WRs Courtland Sutton and Tim Patrick standing during Broncos mini-camp.
Everyone within the Denver Broncos facility knows that if they want to return to the playoffs, they need their quarterback to return to superstar status.
Last season, Russell Wilson had the worst statistical season of his career under former Broncos head coach Nathaniel Hackett.
After making a coaching change after one season, the Broncos traded for former New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton. The Super Bowl-winning head coach will use his offensive expertise to fix Wilson, but there’s another option that can help Wilson bounce back.
According to James Palmer of the NFL Network, Broncos wide receiver Tim Patrick can be the best option for Wilson this year.
“I’ve had multiple people tell me he [Patrick] is the best football player in that wide receiver room and might be a bigger boost for a Russell Wilson bounce-back season than maybe we’re leading on,” Palmer said.
The local insider also explained that Wilson was the most comfortable with Patrick during training camp last season before he went down with a torn ACL.
“If you spent any time in training camp last year, it was Tim Patrick who Russell Wilson was building his chemistry with,” Palmer said. “Multiple coaches would told me [Wilson] felt more comfortable throwing the ball to Patrick than any other guy on the field.”
Tim Patrick Has Something to Prove in 2023
The former Utah Ute has made it known that he’s going to try and prove the doubters wrong after his knee injury nearly a year ago.
“I’ve always got something to prove,” Patrick said. “I think my whole mindset is just being a better version of myself. I see some of the stuff you guys say and handicap you your first year, and then second year is the best year. I throw all that out the window. My best year’s going to be right after.”
Patrick is back and ready to be better than ever after getting his knee repaired by a renowned sports medicine specialist.
Speaking to the local media on June 13, Patrick explained why he chose Dr. Neal ElAttrache, who is the team physician for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Los Angeles Rams, to perform surgery on his injured knee.
“He did Joe Burrow’s and Nick Bosa’s (knee injuries) and both that next year, they were Comeback Player of the Year. That was my decision of going to him because the guys he has done recently have come back better than they were before,” Patrick said.
Burrow, the Cincinnati Bengals quarterback won the 2021 Comeback Player of the Year after tearing his ACL in November 2020. Bosa, of the San Francisco 49ers, also tore his ACL in 2020 but received no votes for the 2021 award.
Fellow receiver Jerry Jeudy said he knew it meant a lot to have Patrick back out on the practice field during OTAs.
“It’s great just having Tim back out there,” Jeudy said. “His energy, the big playmaking ability he has and just having another great receiver out there with you is a big deal.”
Russell Wilson Must Bounce Back to Give Broncos a Chance
The dream head coach that Wilson wanted all along was Payton and the former Seahawks quarterback got his wish in the offseason.
After playing poorly for most of last season, Wilson showed some hope that he could be the star quarterback everyone remembers when he was playing in back-to-back Super Bowls.
After the Broncos fired Hackett with two games left in the season, the Broncos promoted Senior Assistant Jerry Rosburg as the interim head coach for the remainder of the 2022 season.
Per sources, Rosburg got rid of Wilson’s personal team and made sure that they were not welcome into the building.
Rosburg also stripped play-calling duties from quarterback coach Klint Kubiak and gave the duties to offensive coordinator Justin Outten.
During the 13 games that Wilson played under Hackett, the former Super Bowl-winning quarterback completed a career-low 60% of his passes for an average of just 232.2 yards per game.
Wilson threw just 12 touchdowns in those 13 games and had only two multi-touchdown games. The former Seahawk gun-slinger was intercepted 9 times.
In the final two games of the season, Wilson completed nearly 63% of his passes for an average of 252.5 passing yards per game.
Wilson also threw four touchdowns including three in the final game against the Los Angeles Chargers and his passer rating jumped from 82.6 to 96.5.
There is proof that Wilson can play to a level that can carry the Broncos back into the playoff.