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Brian Daboll and the New York Giants are making a “concerted effort” to fix a problem with Russell Wilson.
They signed Russell Wilson to bring some stability and playmaking potential to football’s most important position, but the New York Giants must first fix a hidden problem with their starting quarterback.
It involves how often the 36-year-old takes sacks, according to John Schmeelk of Giants.com. He pointed out how “Last year, Wilson had an 8.9% sack rate, which was fifth-highest in the league, only better than Jalen Hurts and three young quarterbacks (Will Levis, Caleb Williams and Drake Maye). He was virtually tied with two playoff quarterbacks: Jayden Daniels and C.J. Stroud. He was less than a percent worse than two other quarterbacks that had good seasons: Geno Smith and Sam Darnold. Over the past five seasons, Wilson’s 8.7% sack rate is tied for eight-highest.”
Schmeelk wants to see the Giants finding solutions during training camp “with pads. Without contact in spring practices, you can’t see anything regarding the offensive line, pass rush, or how the quarterback will handle it.”
Even without pads, the Giants are already trying to correct this underlying flaw.
Giants Already Have a Russell Wilson Problem
Those efforts have involved “a concerted effort with the offense to get the ball out quickly. If the deep pass down the field was not there, Wilson was quickly getting to his checkdown early. Brian Daboll and Mike Kafka know that sacks can short-circuit drives, and they will do everything in their power to help Wilson bring down his sack rate.”
The phrase “everything in their power” underscores the Giants’ commitment to ensuring Wilson takes fewer hits and sacks. Yet, solving the problem will be easier said than done for a number of reasons.
A desire to have him play quicker goes against what’s made Wilson a 10-time Pro Bowler. He’s established a deserved reputation as a masterful practitioner of the deep ball, but going long takes time. Extra seconds are needed for routes to develop vertically, time spent by the QB staying in the pocket amid increasing pressure.
Wilson often compensated for his offensive line being subjected to pass-rushers for longer by extending plays and moving the pocket. Throwing on the move became a niche skill, but the 13-year veteran is no longer a dynamic, mobile athlete.
He can’t escape pass-rushers as often, and Wilson is now set to play behind a suspect offensive line. The problem showed up during minicamp on plays like this would-be sack highlighted by Marshall Green of Chat Sports, when Wilson was engulfed by Giants edge defenders.
This was not the best visual for a signal-caller who took 33 sacks in 11 games with the Pittsburgh Steelers last season. Those takedowns impacted Wilson’s accuracy, with his pressured completion percentage of 55.1 in sharp contrast to the 66.3 percent of passes he completed from a clean pocket, according to Player Profiler.
Shaky protection in front of a quarterback dealing with declining mobility and who likes to hold onto the ball is a recipe for disaster for the Giants. They need to find ways to limit the damage.
Giants Need to Engineer a Quicker Russell Wilson
Getting Wilson to play quicker will take some subtle engineering from Giants head coach Brian Daboll and offensive coordinator Mike Kafka. Sudden and shorter throws will be easier if Daboll and Kafka can get running back Tyrone Tracy Jr., a converted wide receiver, more involved in the passing game.
So will creating more after-catch opportunities for slot receiver Wan’Dale Robinson, but the biggest help could come from fellow wideout Malik Nabers. Altering Wilson’s penchant for longer-developing plays is probably wishful thinking at this stage of his career, so Nabers’ hidden talent will prove crucial when pressure increases on the pocket.
Daboll should still be designing ways for Wilson to get the ball out sooner. Quick hitters over the middle to a credible playmaker at tight end would suit two of Wilson’s best habits.
Leaning into these concepts and areas is how the Giants can avoid a hidden problem from derailing their latest attempt to rebuild at quarterback.
James Dudko covers the New York Giants, Washington Commanders, New England Patriots and Baltimore Ravens for Heavy.com. He has covered the NFL and world soccer since 2011, with bylines at FanSided, Prime Time Sports Talk and Bleacher Report before joining Heavy in 2021. More about James Dudko
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