Broncos QB Russell Wilson helping coach up players learning new offense
Football pundits praised the Denver Broncos’ offseason moves all offseason — most notably the acquisition of Russell Wilson — but one member of the media conglomerate writes “there’s another reality where the entire thing flies off the rails.”
It’s a reality the 2011 Philadelphia Eagles dream team faced. One that coincidentally led Andy “Big Red” Reid to the Kansas City Chiefs, a current thorn in the side of Broncos Country.
The Broncos’ reality, though, is the team has the seventh-best Super Bowl odds after acquiring Wilson. No small feat for a team that hasn’t made the playoffs since 2015. Part of those odds is the fact Wilson is basically a coach on the field.
And the QB is helping coach up his teammates that are learning a new offense. From the offensive line to his pass catchers, Wilson is there for his teammates. Third-year breakout candidate Albert Okwuegbunam is one of Wilson’s beneficiaries.
“It’s been really good. I think Russ has done a really good job of always having something to say, always having a pointer to anything that we’re installing and anything we’re doing,” Okwuegbunam said last week. “He always has something to add onto it to just kind of help our offensive players adapt. It could be just a little detail about protection, it could be a little detail about coverage and what we might do if we see this look. I think that’s one thing directly on the field that he’s been doing a good job of.”
Okwuegbunam is in the mix to replace the departing Noah Fant. The latter was part of the trade compensation for Wilson. Although third-round rookie TE Greg Dulcich is lurking. It’s a training camp battle to monitor at the least.
When not helping his pass catchers, Wilson is working with the offensive linemen as well. Second-year guard Quinn Meinerz is the beneficiary of that tutelage.
“Russ is extremely detail-oriented and you can sense that energy, which ups the intensity of the people around him,” Meinerz said last week. “I think that’s part of something that makes him special as a player. When he’s talking, we’re listening and we’re listening to every single detail because we’re all trying to be the best and that’s the goal here.”
Denver kicked off OTAs earlier this week — it’s put up or shut up time for the Wilson-led Broncos. The odyssey to hoist another Vince Lombardi trophy has begun.
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