Gross Bombs: NFL Props for Week 16
Josh Gross
In one of the biggest trades in recent NFL history, the Denver Broncos reportedly acquired QB Russell Wilson from the Seattle Seahawks Tuesday, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Wilson, who had spent his entire career with the Seattle Seahawks, has made nine Pro Bowls in his 10 seasons in the NFL. He has 292 career passing touchdowns and another 23 on the ground. The Broncos have shuffled through quarterbacks since Peyton Manning retired after 2015, becoming the first team to miss the playoffs six straight years after winning the Super Bowl.
Russell Wilson to Denver in Blockbuster Trade, Fantasy Reaction
Fantasy impact: It had started to seem like the biggest rumored moves at the quarterback position wouldn’t end up happening after all, especially after news broke Tuesday of Aaron Rodgers re-upping in Green Bay. This turns it all on its head, obviously. The 33-year-old Wilson had one of his worst seasons in 2021, including missing games for the first time in his career, but he’s still the best quarterback in Denver since Manning was healthy, and not by a little. If Wilson is even close to his peak, he’s a top-five fantasy option.
The banner here, though, is what he does for the rest of the Broncos’ weapons. Denver has built a stable of pass-catchers, including Jerry Jeudy, Courtland Sutton, Tim Patrick and Noah Fant, that appeared to just need a quarterback worthy of their talents. They now have that, and while we’ll see how it all shakes out, the whole offense now has an enormous ceiling for both fantasy and real football.
Meanwhile, this might be the start of a bit of a fallow period in Seattle. We’ll see who the Seahawks bring in to replace Wilson, but this is a team in the best division in football and a below-average offensive line. DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett are both still fantasy starters, but they no longer carry their same enormous ceilings.
