Broncos’ legend Peyton Manning believes in Russell Wilson

In one of the bigger moves of the NFL offseason, the talented quarterback has found his way to a storied franchise after a decade in Seattle.

Peyton Manning thinks Russell Wilson has an advantage

The sight of Russell Wilson taking to the practice field in the iconic blue and orange of the Denver Broncos is still something that people are getting used to. Indeed, After spending the first 10 seasons of his career with the Seattle Seahawks, Wilson now finds himself charged with the task of learning and utilizing a completely new offense. While some may roll their eyes at the prospect, arguing that challenges come with the territory or even a ‘how hard can it be?’, the reality is the intricacies of understanding how to utilize an offense in an NFL team, far less one you have recently been traded to is one that even legends like Tom Brady and Peyton Manning can attest to.

Where Manning specifically is concerned, fans will recall that Manning’s first year in the league got off to a dismal 2-3 start before he would go on to orchestrate 11 consecutive wins to close out the 2012 season. Incidentally, Brady didn’t do much better with his 7-5 start in Tampa Bay. Of course that season ended with a Super Bowl victory, so maybe they know what they’re talking about. With all that said, Manning recently gave his thoughts on Denver’s new QB, saying that Wilson has an advantage which he himself didn’t back in 2012.

“I think he’s off to a fast start in talking to him,” Manning said this week. “I do think it’s an advantage for Russell to be coming in with a new coaching staff, because everybody’s learning and Russell is going to know this offense better than anybody. So he’s going to be in teaching mode, as well. If you’re a new player and you’re catching up to everybody else in a leadership position, that can be difficult. So I think Russell’s at a real advantage where they’re learning coach [Nathaniel] Hackett’s offense together, figuring out what works and what doesn’t work and I think he’s going to be great obviously for our young receivers. Like all Broncos fans, [I’m] excited to see him get to work this fall.” In case you’re wondering, Hackett was offensive coordinator in Green Bay for the last 3 seasons before taking the job as Denver’s head coach this off-season.

What does Peyton Manning like about Russell Wilson?

Known for having held a throwing session with teammates during his time as Denver’s signal caller, Manning was duly impressed by news of Russell Wilson doing the same. Indeed according to reports, Wilson held invited a group of his new teammates to his home in San Diego to take part in a throwing session. “I would imagine San Diego is a little more exciting than Durham in April, although we did throw in some Duke-North Carolina basketball games during the day, so that was neat,” Manning said. “Wherever you go, I like the off-campus throwing. There’s something about the [fact that] Russell can lead it, it’s just him and the receivers — coaches aren’t around. There’s some leadership there from all of the players. Obviously going out to San Diego, it sounds like it’s a heck of a facility. I talked to Russell. He actually sent me the film of the throwing that they did, and I could tell they got really good work in. That’s why I think they’re off to a real good start.”

With the acquisition of the former Super Bowl winner, the Broncos have most definitely shown a sign of intent. If Wilson can get up to speed on Hackett’s game plan as well as his new offense, maybe we could see a QB buck the trend that has been previously observed when a play maker takes over a new offense. Should that be the case, expect Denver to go deep into the post season, or maybe even all the way.