Top 50 NFL Quarterbacks: #46

Russell Wilson

Russell Wilson is the first active quarterback to appear in my top 50, but just how can a guy who has only played 3 seasons be included among the greatest of all time?

First of all, consider that there are only 14 quarterbacks in NFL history that have thrown for at least 20 touchdowns and 10 or fewer interceptions in a season during the first three years of their career while leading their team to a winning record. Of those 14, 11 were first-round draft picks (Wilson was not). And even more impressively, among those 14, only 1 has ever done it more than once - Wilson, who has done it in all 3 of his professional seasons.

It is pretty rare for a quarterback to be named the starter before his first NFL game, especially if he was not a first-round pick. It is even rarer for him to keep that job for more than a season. And it is basically unheard of for that quarterback to not only lead his team to three straight winning seasons to open his career, but to win 75% of his regular season games, and average record of 12-4 per season. Wilson has done all of that.

Aside from his accurate passing numbers, it is also important to note that Wilson is one of the best running quarterbacks currently in the NFL. In 2014 he led all quarterbacks with 849 yards and 6 touchdowns on the ground, and in 2013 he was #2 in rushing with 539 yards, while in his rookie season he was #3 with 489 yards. With those numbers, he is truly a dual-threat quarterback.

Finally, he is a winner. He has not only won 75% of his regular season games, he has matched that number in the postseason, with 6 wins and only 2 losses, including a Super Bowl win in just his second season and a near-win in season #3. If he had completed his final pass in this year's Super Bowl to a teammate rather than an opponent, he would have become the youngest ever to win two titles, and probably would have jumped between four and six spots higher on this list. At this point, he's got a lot of seasons still ahead, so who knows how high he will climb.