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A little over three years ago, the Seahawks drafted Russell Wilson in the third round. Some said he would have gone higher *IF* he was higher (taller) but even most of those people believed that he wasn't taller, so it didn't matter, and he wouldn't succeed.
Including myself.
Three years later, he isn't just one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL, he's one of the best quarterbacks in NFL history! (trails off quietly and whispers "through his first three seasons" to finish that sentence.)
Multiple Super Bowls, Pro Bowls, and hyperboles since he was drafted, Wilson is in some extremely rare company in many different ways. Here are five such ways:
- Wilson's career passer rating of 98.3 is the highest in NFL history through three seasons (minimum 1,200 attempts)
His AY/A of 8.16 is also the highest ever for a QB through his first three seasons.
If you ratchet it down to include Kurt Warner (who played in just 28 games compared to 48 for Wilson), then he had a passer rating of 104.0, a Y/A of 9.13, and a AY/A of 8.95.
- Wilson's 36 wins is three more than any other QB through their first three seasons
Nobody should dispute that "wins is a team stat!" but Seattle would have significantly fewer wins if they were starting Matt Flynn or Tarvaris Jackson over the last three seasons. Wilson is directly responsible for at least a few of those 36 wins, plus six more in the playoffs.
- Wilson throws a TD pass once every 17.38 pass attempts
Is that good?
Dan Marino threw a TD once every 14.56 pass attempts through his first three seasons. Andrew Luck is at 21.08. Peyton Manning was at 19.75.
It's pretty good.
- Wilson is the most experienced playoff QB for any player through three seasons
Wilson has played in eight playoff games, one more than Joe Flacco did through his first three seasons. The biggest difference is that Flacco threw four touchdowns and seven interceptions with a passer rating of 61.6 in those games and Wilson has thrown 12 touchdowns, six interceptions, and has a passer rating of 97.8 in his postseason career.
Wilson's six playoff wins are the most for any QB through three years and he led the Seahawks on a comeback against the Falcons in one of his losses and in the other ... well, I can't remember what happened in the other.
in Tom Brady's first playoff appearance, even though the Patriots won the Super Bowl, he had just one touchdown in three games with a rating of 77.3.
To play in eight playoff games and maintain a yards/attempt of 9.01 is pretty remarkable.
In fact...
- Wilson's playoff Y/A of 9.01 is the highest in NFL history (minimum 200 attempts)
His passer rating of 97.8 is fifth, behind Bart Starr, Kurt Warner, Aaron Rodgers, and Drew Brees.
It's very likely that these numbers will go down as he plays in more playoff games, but on the brightside, he's going to play in more playoff games. Probably a lot of them.
And after that, we can even more of these fun facts to this list.