Former NFL Scouts Place Russell Wilson Over Deshaun Watson In AFC North QB Rankings

The AFC North is once again set to be the most competitive division in the NFL for the 2024 season. Even with three of the four starting quarterbacks dealing with injuries, the division had the highest combined win-loss percentage (.632) in the league. Joe Burrow and Deshaun Watson appear to be on track or even ahead of schedule for a Week 1 return, and the Steelers brought in Russell Wilson as the presumed starter to keep up with the competition.

The best division in football figures to be even better this upcoming season.

Former NFL scouts Daniel Jeremiah and Bucky Brooks gave their quarterback rankings for each division in football and they had slightly different views when it comes to the AFC North.

Brooks:
1. Joe Burrow
2. Lamar Jackson
3. Russell Wilson
4. Deshaun Watson

Jeremiah:
1. Lamar Jackson
2. Joe Burrow
3. Russell Wilson
4. Deshaun Watson

Either way you slice it, Burrow and Jackson are in a tier of their own at the top of the division. When healthy and at the top of his game, Burrow has proven he can be among the league’s best, and Jackson now has two MVP trophies under his belt as one of the most dynamic players in the league. But what is interesting is that they both agreed on Wilson being ranked ahead of Watson.

“I don’t know if I had on the bingo card that you and I would both rank Russell Wilson over Deshaun Watson,” Brooks said on the latest episode of Move The Sticks. “It just kinda shows how far, I would say, the shine has come off Deshaun Watson. But then, when you look at the numbers, he’s played 12 games for the Browns. He’s completed less than 60 percent of his passes. And at 14:9 touchdown interception ratio, that’s significant. I just find it surprising that we have maybe the top-paid quarterback, Deshaun Watson, at the bottom of the list.”

Even with Wilson coming off two of the worst seasons of his career, they have reached the same conclusion about him being placed over Watson. The argument has less to do with what they think of Wilson’s potential and more to do with how down they are on Watson.

The last time that Watson played a full season was in 2020 for the Houston Texans. He threw for 4,823 yards with a 70.2 completion percentage and 33 touchdown passes. Coincidentally, that was also Wilson’s last stellar season. With the Seattle Seahawks, he threw for 4,212 yards with a 68.8 completion percentage and 40 touchdown passes.

Wilson is seven years older than Watson, but given the recent track record—even with Wilson’s struggles—he has outperformed Watson. Both quarterbacks will be looking for a bounce-back season in 2024. Which has a better chance of realizing that goal?

“I just feel more confident that if Russell Wilson at his peak was an A, I feel more confident that Russell Wilson can get back to being a B, B-plus player,” Jeremiah said. “Whereas I’m not as confident that Deshaun Watson can get anywhere close to his A game. He doesn’t resemble himself.”

Where would you rank the AFC North quarterbacks?