It is OTAs season in the NFL, and that means there is a need for storylines, real or imagined, and that is how we end up with some of the silly things written that we all know are not likely true. Heck, I read out of Philadelphia this week that Kenny Pickett was “outperforming” Jalen Hurts, as if there is some sort of actual competition going on.

There is always the “new coach/coordinator and players love his style system better than the rest” storylines every spring, and we have read some version of that about Steelers new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith. Players love his system, think it is amazing, will be unstoppable and it is far superior to the junk they ran last year.

There is always a “player and/or team in the best shape of their lives,” and we have read about this with both Najee Harris and DeMarvin Leal. These ones always make me laugh because most of these players come into the season in great shape.

Those are annual ones, but here is one specific to the Steelers that I am already tired of: Justin Fields is competing with Russell Wilson and might actually beat him out at quarterback.

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I am going to try and be gentle here when I say this because it apparently might hurt a lot of people’s feelings, but there is no world in which Fields is better than Wilson at quarterback, at least not now. Yes, Fields is younger and thus has more upside, but I am amazed at how many people are utterly clueless about just how good Wilson actually has been at quarterback.

I’ll put it like this — one is a borderline Hall of Famer and one of the best quarterbacks of his era and still has a lot left in the tank, and the other is a guy with talent, potential and all kinds of eye-popping measurables who has never really proven it in the NFL.

Can we please stop with this idea that Wilson isn’t a major upgrade over what the Steelers have had at quarterback the last few seasons, even including Ben Roethlisberger’s last year? And that the Steelers are going to be better off with Fields as the starter?

Wilson is entering his 13th season, and since he became an NFL quarterback in 2012, he is top-five among active passers in yards (43,653), touchdown passes (334) and his touchdown and interception percentage are both in the top six.

His first season in Denver, he threw for only 3,524 yards, 16 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. That was his worst season as a pro … and it was as good as any season Fields has had as an NFL quarterback. Wilson has never thrown for fewer 3,000 yards in a season; Fields has never thrown for more than 2,600.

It is true Fields is a superior athlete and able to do a few more things while running, but quarterback is a position about throwing the ball and it isn’t like Wilson is a statue. Wilson is actually at his best as a passer when he is on the move, and his ability to scramble negates some of the advantages as a rusher that Fields has.

There is some school of thought that Wilson is done because his last two seasons in Denver weren’t stellar, but that’s not necessarily true. It is true that the 2022 season for Wilson was bad, but the Broncos stunk and were maybe the worst-coached team in the last decade or two in the NFL.

Gerry DulacGerry Dulac’s Steelers chat: 05.29.24

And last season he had the Broncos on the cusp of a playoff berth when it became clear the team was going to move on from him. He was essentially benched, but even still he threw more touchdown passes than all three of the Steelers quarterbacks combined.

There are a number of scouts who say Wilson still throws one of the prettiest and most accurate passes in the NFL. He can still throw every pass, he can still throw on the run and he can still connect on the deep balls.

His s𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁 set should play really well in the Steelers’ new offense, especially given its heavy emphasis on running the ball with power and throwing down the field. Fields has never proven he is an accurate enough passer to run that kind of offense, and he has never proven that he can be a consistent passer, either.

Fields ultimately may end up being the Steelers’ quarterback of the future, but the future is definitely not now and he will sit and learn from Wilson this year. Obviously injuries can change things, but Wilson is the Steelers’ best quarterback and as such he will be the quarterback who leads them this year.