NFL insider reveals surprising player who will help Russell Wilson in ‘bounce-back’ season - “Best football player in that wide receiver room”
Russell Wilson's struggles in his first season with the Denver Broncos are well-documented, with the quarterback arriving as the team's savior following multiple mistakes at the most important position of the game but not up to his usual standards for his 10 seasons with the Seattle Seahawks.
There's a huge expectation for a bounce-back season for the quarterback, who should improve massively under the tutelage of Sean Payton, the former New Orleans Saints head coach who arrived at the franchise after a trade. Payton is known as an offensive mastermind, but his demands over the quarterback will also be high.
NFL Network insider James Pearce highlighted another factor that could help the quarterback return to his best days. Wide receiver Tim Patrick returns to the field after a serious knee injury in 2022, and Pearce says that he's the best receiver on the team:
"I look at the pass catcher he was most comfortable with heading into his first season in Denver, and that was wide receiver Tim Patrick. If you spent any time in training camp last year, it was Patrick who Russel Wilson was building his chemistry with.
"When multiple coaches would tell me he felt more comfortable throwing the ball to Patrick than any other guy on the field, he tears his ACL in August - and Russell Wilson has this abysmal season where he goes through the entire year without the guy he was maybe [the] most comfortable with."
He continued:
"So with Tim Patrick coming back off the ACL injury, and expected to be ready for week one, I've had multiple people in the building tell me he's the best football player in that wide receiver room - and he might be a bigger boost for Russell Wilson's bounce-back season."
Broncos wide receiver depth chart: Who's expected to play with Russell Wilson in 2023?
Courtland Sutton, Jerry Jeudy and Tim Patrick will be the primary receiving options. Sutton has developed into a No. 1 receiver. Jeudy has established himself as the No. 2, while Patrick is a trustworthy option who missed the 2022 season with a knee injury.
Marvin Mims is expected to see his role grow over the course of 2023, while the KJ Hamler pick clearly did not work out the way the Broncos hoped for. Marquez Callaway also should make the 53-man roster in August, giving a great core for Wilson.