I have mixed feelings on Russell Wilson. He's one of the game's best quarterbacks (and better fantasy quarterbacks). But he's on a team that's running a conservative, run-based offense right now, and he himself isn't running as much as he was in the past.
Last year, Wilson rushed for 376 yards and no touchdowns. That's good production for a lot of quarterbacks, but well below what he'd done in most previous seasons. In three of four prior to that, he rushed for at least 550 yards. So a significant step back.
On the other hand, it's just one year. The guy who ran for over 800 yards back in 2014 is still in there, right? Over the last five seasons, in fact, only Cam Newton has rushed for more yards than Wilson.
| QUARTERBACKS AS RUNNERS, 2014-2018 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | '14 | '15 | '16 | '17 | '18 | Tot | TD |
| Cam Newton | 539 | 636 | 359 | 754 | 488 | 2776 | 30 |
| Russell Wilson | 849 | 553 | 259 | 586 | 376 | 2623 | 12 |
| Blake Bortles | 419 | 310 | 359 | 322 | 365 | 1775 | 9 |
| Tyrod Taylor | -3 | 568 | 580 | 427 | 125 | 1697 | 15 |
| Alex Smith | 254 | 498 | 134 | 355 | 168 | 1409 | 10 |
| Aaron Rodgers | 269 | 344 | 369 | 126 | 269 | 1377 | 9 |
| Colin Kaepernick | 639 | 256 | 468 | - | - | 1363 | 4 |
| Marcus Mariota | - | 252 | 349 | 312 | 357 | 1270 | 11 |
| Andrew Luck | 273 | 196 | 341 | - | 148 | 958 | 5 |
| Dak Prescott | - | - | 282 | 357 | 305 | 944 | 18 |
| Deshaun Watson | - | - | - | 269 | 551 | 820 | 7 |
| Ryan Fitzpatrick | 184 | 270 | 130 | 78 | 152 | 814 | 6 |
| Jameis Winston | - | 210 | 165 | 135 | 281 | 791 | 9 |
| Ryan Tannehill | 311 | 141 | 164 | - | 145 | 761 | 3 |
| Lamar Jackson | - | - | - | - | 695 | 695 | 5 |
| Andy Dalton | 169 | 142 | 184 | 99 | 99 | 693 | 12 |
| Mitchell Trubisky | - | - | - | 248 | 421 | 669 | 5 |
| Josh Allen | - | - | - | - | 631 | 631 | 8 |
| Matthew Stafford | 93 | 159 | 207 | 98 | 71 | 628 | 5 |
| Matt Ryan | 145 | 63 | 117 | 143 | 125 | 593 | 3 |
| Carson Wentz | - | - | 150 | 299 | 93 | 542 | 2 |
| Kirk Cousins | 20 | 48 | 96 | 179 | 123 | 466 | 14 |
| DeShone Kizer | - | - | - | 419 | 39 | 458 | 5 |
| Jay Cutler | 191 | 201 | 24 | 32 | - | 448 | 3 |
| Blaine Gabbert | 5 | 185 | 173 | 82 | 0 | 445 | 3 |
| Derek Carr | 92 | 138 | 70 | 66 | 47 | 413 | 1 |
| Teddy Bridgewater | 209 | 192 | - | -3 | 5 | 403 | 4 |
| Josh McCown | 127 | 98 | 21 | 124 | 32 | 402 | 9 |
Four of the other quarterbacks who show up high in that area were drafted in the first two rounds the last two seasons: Trubisky, Watson, Allen and Jackson. This is today's NFL, and significant production to consider in fantasy drafts.
Last column shows touchdown runs by those quarterbacks, and nobody is really close to Newton (30); Dak Prescott has 18. But Josh Allen rushed for 8 last season, so maybe he'll make a run (so to speak) to the top over the next few seasons.
Wilson is older now (30), of course, and has taken plenty of hits over the years. Maybe his declining rushing production last year is just a sign of the times, and about what to expect from him going forward. That's contributed to him ranking outside our top 10 at the position.
I do like Wilson's floor, and I like the fact that he shows up every week. And I think there's an outside chance that maybe last year's declining rushing production is a bit of an anomaly -- that he surprises by again rushing for 400-500-plus yards and a few TDs this season. I can see myself drafting him, just maybe, if he falls too far in drafts.
--Andy Richardson