Getty Russell Wilson lost the top spot to Lamar Jackson.
Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson made a massive jump in the NFL’s Top 100 Players rankings. Wilson moved up from his 2019 No. 25 ranking all the way to second but lost the top spot to Lamar Jackson. The Seahawks quarterback is likely pleased with the jump but will undoubtedly use the runner-up spot as motivation to be the top player when 2021 rolls around.
The NFL rankings are an annual tradition and are unique in that the players vote on who they believe the top 100 people are in the sport. The results are released every offseason on NFL Network and feature player interviews about each person on the list. Wilson’s ranking set a lot of Seahawks’ records.
“Highest ranking for a Seahawks player in 10 years. ✅ Eighth straight year on the #NFLTop100List. ✅ Comes in at No. 2 on this year’s list. ✅ The accolades continue to pile up for @DangeRussWilson,” the Seahawks tweeted.
Wilson Topped Mahomes on the List
Jackson earned more votes than Wilson, but the Seahawks quarterback topped Patrick Mahomes who landed at No. 4. The defending Super Bowl champion took to Twitter to take a subtle jab at the rankings.
The newest member of the Seahawks chimed in on the rankings. Prior to the final reveal, Jamal Adams noted that Wilson should be “top two.”
“Should be Top 2 forsure!” Adams tweeted.
After Wilson received the No. 2 ranking, Adams once again tweeted out support for his new quarterback along with the G.O.A.T. emoji.
“My GUY!!!! @DangeRussWilson” Adams noted.
Players that were interviewed cited Wilson’s elusiveness, play-making ability, accuracy and deep passes as major reasons for his success.
Carroll on Wilson: He Is the Best He Has Ever Been
One of the big NFL debates is the perceived limitations of the Seahawks offense compared to Wilson’s potential. Many Seahawks fans want the team to be more aggressive on offense and utilize Wilson’s abilities. Over the offseason, Carroll admitted that Wilson is as good as he has ever been.
“…Russell is at the best of his game that he’s ever been,” Carroll explained on ESPN 710 Seattle’s John Clayton Show. “His command, his control, his understanding of everything that we can put forth for him, allows him to be, I think, at the best he’s ever been. In that, we want him to have more opportunity to be the factor in the game and control the game. But John, in just football in general that doesn’t mean that you throw the football all the time to do that. We need to be a really good functioning team that is hard to beat because we are so good at the things that we do. That means that you have to have balance in your game.”
It will be worth watching what kind of changes the Seahawks have made to the offense for the upcoming season. While Carroll may want to operate a balanced attack, the Seahawks could still crank up their passing attack a bit while maintaining their identity.
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