The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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156 ■ THE WOLFPACKER ■ PACK PROS Top Five Seasons In 2015 1. Russell Wilson, QB, Seattle Seahawks — John Breitenbach of Pro Football Focus (PFF) said it best when explaining why the fifth-year professional is already one of the top five quarterbacks in the NFL. "The Seattle Seahawks' resurgence began with the hiring of Pete Carroll in January of 2010," he wrote, "but it wasn't until Russell Wilson was added in the third round of the 2012 NFL Draft that Seattle became a legitimate Super Bowl contender." Now, it's tough to imagine the Seahawks not being a threat to win it all with Wilson at the helm. He played behind one of the worst offensive lines in professional football — PFF ranked it the league's third worst in 2015 — and several of his surrounding weapons were in and out of the lineup due to injuries, but the field general still accomplished historic feats. The website named him the third runner-up for its MVP award after Wilson led the NFL with a career- best passer rating of 110.1, which is the 15th-best mark in league annals. He also notched career highs in completion percentage (68.1, third in the NFL), passing touchdowns (34, sixth) and passing yards (4,024, 12th), among other categories, while becoming the only player in league history to throw for at least 4,000 yards and 30 scores and rush for 500 or more yards in the same season. Pro-Football-Reference.com has graded every NFL player since 1950, calculating their approximate value as a way to compare individual's single-season per - formances. In that metric, Wilson was tied for fourth overall in the NFL and second among quarterbacks in 2015. Fellow players tabbed him as the league's 17th- best player in the NFL Network's Top 100. Although he could not lead his team to a third straight Super Bowl, that allowed him to play in the Pro Bowl for the first time since 2012. Wilson was the No. 1 pick in the all-star game's fantasy draft and earned Offensive MVP honors. 2. David Amerson, CB, Oakland Raiders — Amerson did not perform up to his second-round draft status in 2014 with the Washington Redskins. Despite his immense potential, the team cut him after two ap - pearances off the bench to open the 2015 season. That might have been the best thing that happened to the former NCSU star. "I had a lot of growing up to do," Amerson told Raid- ers.com. "When I was in Washington — I came into the league, and I was 21. I was still a kid. I really didn't understand how to be a professional yet, and there was a lot of things I had to learn, and I was going through that growing process. "With something happening like me getting released, I was almost forced to [grow up]. It was almost do or die. It's all or nothing. I have to make it my time now and shine, or I can possibly be out of the league." PFF named Amerson the NFL's most improved player in 2015. After being torched in Washington in 2014 for a league-worst 10 touchdowns, Amerson was ranked 106th at his position by PFF. With a clean slate in Oakland, he was still among the most-targeted corners in the NFL (sixth, 104 passes thrown to players he was covering) but allowed just 58 completions and one score. Opponents' quarterback rating got more than cut in half (140.2 to 62.7), and PFF ranked him the 15th-best corner in the league last season. Now his focus is to be even better than he was last year in a revamped secondary that includes free agent signees Sean Smith and Reggie Nelson, players who have both earned All-Pro honors previously. Amerson told Raiders.com he is trying to learn as much as possible from the veterans. "I just want to continue to improve, to continue to develop my game and go forward and not backwards," he said. 3. Philip Rivers, QB, San Diego Chargers — Only two quarterbacks played behind worse offen - sive lines than Wilson, and Rivers operated behind the league's worst according to PFF. That may help explain why the Chargers finished 4-12, but it did not stop the veteran quarterback from setting a new career high and ranking second in the league with 4,792 passing yards. Rivers completed 66.1 percent of his throws (seventh in the NFL) and connected on 29 touchdowns (tied for 12th). His passer rating of 93.8 ranked 12th, while he surpassed 4,000 yards through the air for the third straight campaign. He has reached that level in seven different seasons (all in the last eight years), making him just the fourth passer to accomplish that, while his streak of 10 straight years with at least 3,000 yards is the fourth longest in history. His career-high 4,556 yards of total offense ranked third in the league last year and was the 33rd-best total in NFL history, while his 437 completions checked in at first in 2015 and ninth all time. 4. J.R. Sweezy, OL, Seattle Seahawks — The Seahawks' running backs and offensive line were marred by injuries last season. A rotating cast of characters in the backfield and on the front line (eight different start - ers) revolved around a few consistent pieces, one of which was 15-game starter Sweezy. Despite the personnel changes — and relying on undrafted rookie running back Thomas Rawls for much of the season — Seattle finished third in the league with 141.8 rushing yards per game. Sweezy has been a rock for the Seahawks at right guard, missing just two games over the last two years and starting all 10 playoff games during his career, which resulted in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers signing him to a five-year contract this offseason worth $32.5 million, according to ESPN.com. Seattle wanted to keep him but couldn't afford that price tag; he's expected to start on the left side for his new squad. 5. Steven Hauschka, K, Seattle Seahawks — Hauschka has been ultra reliable since the Seahawks picked him up off waivers prior to the 2011 season, and last year was no different. He opened the campaign by converting his first 17 field goal attempts, including nine from 40 yards or more and four from at least 50. He finished the regular season perfect on all six of his 50-plus yard attempts and was the only player at 100 percent while making at least four such kicks. Overall, he was 29 of 31 overall (93.5 percent) to rank third in the league for field goal percentage, while tying for eighth in scoring (127 points). He did suffer from his first-ever postseason miss — a 55-yarder — but he had made 14 in a row before that. Thanks to his fifth straight 100-point campaign, Hauschka was named an alternate for the 2016 Pro Bowl. Pro Football Focus named Raiders corner- back David Amerson the NFL's most improved player in 2015. PHOTO COURTESY OAKLAND RAIDERS Russell Wilson's Pursuit Of Fifth-Year Milestones Russell Wilson has enjoyed one of the most successful starts ever for an NFL quarterback. According to Field- Gulls.com, he is on the cusp of some impressive records for quarterbacks after their fifth year in the league: Category Wilson's Current Total NFL Record After Five Seasons (Player) TD Passes 106 168 (Dan Marino) This one is not within reach, but Wilson would pass Peyton Manning for second place with 33 touchdowns in 2016. Passing Yards 13,974 20,618 (Peyton Manning) Again, this one is not within reach, but 4,034 yards in 2016 would place him sixth on an impressive list. QB Rushing Yards 2,430 3,207 (Cam Newton) Wilson's current total ranks fourth in NFL history for his first four seasons; 778 more this fall would give him the new five- year standard. Passer Rating 101.8 98.2 (Kurt Warner) Wilson has this record if he can avoid a serious dip after eclipsing 100 in three of his four campaigns. Only nine quarterbacks in league annals can claim such a feat in three or more seasons, and Philip Rivers is also one of those (with three). Wilson's 101.8 career mark ranks second in NFL history. QB Wins 46 56 (Matt Ryan) Wilson already holds the record for a QB after his first four seasons. The best winning percentage for the first five years is Ben Roethlisberger at 51-20 (.718); Wilson enters the year at 46-18 (.719). QB Starts 64 80 (Peyton Manning, Joe Flacco) Wilson's durability is impressive for a dual-threat quarterback and truly shows how smart of a scrambler he is. He rarely takes unnecessary — or really any — hits while running, although the 45 times he was sacked last year tied for third most in the league. He has not missed a game since his redshirt freshman season in Raleigh (2008).