Russell Wilson No. 5 on list of Top 10 QBs under 25

If you’ve been paying attention to NFL.com’s Around the League countdown of the Top 10 quarterbacks age 25 and under, yesterday you may have seen contributor Gregg Rosenthal name the Seahawks’ Russell Wilson to thenumber five spot on his list.

Wilson was the latest young signal caller to join the likes of Josh Freeman of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (No. 10),Andy Dalton of the Cincinnati Bengals (No. 9), Sam Bradford of the St. Louis Rams (No. 8), Ryan Tannehill of the Miami Dolphins (No. 7), and Matthew Stafford of the Detroit Lions (No. 6).

Given Wilson’s credentials and record-setting rookie season it’s hard to believe he didn’t land higher on this list. Rosenthal admits he feels guilty placing Wilson where he does, as he goes on to explain there is very little separating Wilson from the list’s top choice (to be unveiled later this week).

Courtesy Seahawks.com

“Wilson is better, faster than any quarterback to enter the league since Ben Roethlisberger in 2004. (Omitting the other class members of 2012.) That’s how rare it is to see a rookie quarterback excel like Wilson did. That’s also why I feel so guilty about placing Wilson fifth in our series.

That placement speaks to the insane influx of talent at quarterback the last few years, and the reality that someone had to get knocked down a few spots. (As a pure thrower, Wilson ranked just below the guys in front of him.) There is very little gap between the top player on the list and Wilson at No. 5. That’s why this series felt like a fun idea in the first place.

Everything feels possible when it comes to Wilson’s career, with virtually no ceiling to what he can accomplish. Seahawks fans believe they have the quarterback that will take them to the promised land. They should. The Seahawks organization, only a year removed from giving good money to Matt Flynn, has a quarterback that can be in the mix for league MVPs.

As Roethlisberger noted last week, it’s risky to put too much faith in young quarterbacks before they back up early success. Wilson, however, has a way of turning any skeptics into Russellmaniacs.”

--Tony Drovetto, Seattle Seahawks blog