How Russell Wilson Uses Instincts and Patience to Be Effective as a Runner
Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson isn’t conventional.
He’s certainly not your standard pocket passer and instead approaches the position creatively while improvising to make throws others wouldn’t even attempt. He’s not strictly a running quarterback either but rather a quarterback who can run and do it well.
There is no specific label to be applied and no box Wilson fits in snugly. So to understand him, it’s best to compartmentalize.
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After a key Week 15 win over the San Francisco 49ers, his play demanded a hat tip to Wilson’s creations outside of the pocket while avoiding pressure. Now after another critical win over another division opponent—this time to jump atop both the division and the conference—the other Wilson was prominently on display.
The Wilson who’s already posted one of the best single-season rushing totals by a quarterback.
| Michael Vick | 2006 | 1,039 | 8.45 | 64.9 |
| Bobby Douglass | 1972 | 968 | 6.87 | 69.1 |
| Randall Cunningham | 1990 | 942 | 7.98 | 58.9 |
| Michael Vick | 2004 | 902 | 7.52 | 60.1 |
| Russell Wilson | 2014 | 842 | 7.52 | 56.1 |
Wilson is a quarterback chameleon, adapting to his environment while gladly accepting whatever the defense provides. He’s not unique with that mindset, but the athletic tools he can use to capitalize on opportunities are rare.
We saw the running Wilson Sunday during a 35-6 win over the Arizona Cardinals. But before he took off downfield, we saw more than that, too. We saw a quarterback who used patience and quickness equally.
Overall, that’s how he approaches the quarterback position but especially the running part. Take a glance at the table above again. Note that with one game remaining and Wilson averaging 56.1 rushing yards each week, he’s well within reach of becoming only the fifth quarterback in league history to rush for over 900 yards in a season.
His mark of 842 yards has already given Wilson entrance into that historic company of quarterbacks who enjoyed many long Sunday jogs—or furious sprints if that’s their style.
In his third NFL season, he’s shattered pretty much every previous personal rushing high.
| Wilson in 2014 | 842 | 56.1 | 7.5 | 3 |
| Previous career highs | 539 | 33.7 | 5.6 | 0 |
But he’s doing more than just running effectively for a quarterback. He’s running effectively for, well, a runner. Any runner.
Wilson sits 15th on the overall rushing yards leaderboard this season. You have to scroll down to 30th to find the 49ers' Colin Kaepernick, the next quarterback on the list with his 576 rushing yards.
The difference between Wilson and other running quarterbacks during an era when they may be a dying breed isn’t top-end speed. No, it’s quickness, both mentally and physically.
Kaepernick has a long, galloping stride due to his size, and he lacks acceleration. In Washington, struggling Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III doesn’t process the game well, missing opportunities as both a runner and passer.
But Wilson reads the field quickly and runs even faster. That combination of reading and reacting was on display Sunday when he covered 55 yards (a career-long run) in 8.81 seconds.
That’s how much time elapsed between the moment he took his first step downfield on a run that began from his own 5-yard line and when he was finally brought down after covering over half the field. The gain came from what should have been a failed play—or worse, a potential safety with pressure coming and Wilson in his own end zone.
On second down, the Seahawks lined up with three wide receivers spread out and Wilson in the pistol, with running back Robert Turbin behind. Immediately, there was a mismatch that will be lost every time.
As Wilson scanned the field and looked first to tight end Luke Willson in the flat and then down the middle, Cardinals outside linebacker Alex Okafor faced little resistance from Turbin.
Defensive end Calais Campbell was also breaking through to Wilson's left. His world was crumbling, and he had to escape the fiery hell closing in.
Often we hear of quarterbacks needing a mental alarm. It’s a concept repeated almost daily each spring during draft season and a sort of football-ism that attempts to describe an innate sense the quarterback needs for his immediate surroundings. He won’t always see the dangers lurking, but there needs to be an instinctive feel for them.
That doesn’t mean abandoning plays. It means creating something when the play abandons you, which is exactly what Wilson did next.
Only 2.41 seconds passed between the time he received the snap and when he took his second step to accelerate through a developing hole. That’s far less than his average of 2.90 seconds in the pocket this season, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required).
But in that time he still went through his first two reads, scrambling only after exhausting the play. And when Wilson first stepped forward his shoulders remained square to potential targets.
He was still a thrower, even when he was a runner.
When the run is frozen at that moment, there’s plenty of space. But it doesn’t seem like a play that has any business ending 55 yards later. Campbell is closing in behind Wilson, and linebacker Larry Foote is in position to hold him to at worst a moderate gain.
But that’s Wilson: a quarterback who regularly turns a dead play into something positive.
He did it later during his fourth-quarter touchdown run that looked like a lost play. Okafor trapping him in the backfield should have led to a loss of about nine yards—not six points.
Wilson has been spectacular based on every rushing metric available, and he’s highly effective while manipulating defenders with read-option plays.
But amid a historically great rushing season, Wilson made passing history Sunday night too. He became only the second quarterback in league history to record multiple games throwing for over 300 yards (he finished with a career-high 339) while also rushing for at least 80 yards, according to ESPN Stats & Information.
He’s whatever you need him to be: a runner, a passer and an improviser. He's also an MVP candidate and Super Bowl champion.
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