HBO’s Hard Knocks gave us a behind-the-scenes look for how AFC North defenses prepared for the Pittsburgh Steelers last year, which gave us a [damning soundbite about Russell Wilson](https://steelersdepot.com/2024/12/hard-knocks-offers-glimpse-of-how-teams-scout-russell-wilson-three-pointers-and-layups/) and the offense.
“Russell Wilson, it’s three-pointers and layups,” Ravens analyst Noah Riley said. “There’s no mid-range with this dude. He throws that intermediate ball the least in the NFL. He throws the deep ball more than anyone in the NFL. If we shut that down, we take a big part of what they do away, making them beat us left-handed.”
Russell Wilson may have been throwing more deep balls than anyone in the NFL, as the Ravens suggested, but he was also throwing more checkdowns. [Lauren Gray of Pro Football Focus released a study](https://www.pff.com/news/nfl-captain-checkdown-quarterbacks-most-least-checkdown-passes-2025) this morning that shows Wilson’s tendencies from last year and a troubling sign for things likely to come in Pittsburgh.
Of quarterbacks who had at least 300 pass attempts in 2024, Russell Wilson blew away the competition with a checkdown rate of 19.2 percent. He checked down 61 times on 318 passes. He completed 53 of those attempts, but PFF gave him a 58.3 grade for his checkdown passes, the sixth-worst mark in the league. That included a pick-six against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 16.
Wilson’s checkdown rate was nearly five percentage points higher than the next quarterback on the list. Who is next, you might ask? None other than the likely starter for the Steelers in 2025, Aaron Rodgers.
He hasn’t signed, but all signs continue to point to Rodgers signing sometime over the next couple weeks before mandatory minicamp, possibly as soon as the end of this week leading up to voluntary OTAs. Rodgers checked down 80 times on 552 attempts last season for a rate of 14.5 percent.
The common denominator between those two quarterbacks is their advanced age. Both used to rely on their mobility, to varying degrees, to extend plays. With that being less of a viable option, they are forced to checkdown to avoid taking too many hits.
Rodgers might actually be in a better place to taper off some of his checkdown usage another year removed from his Achilles injury, but he should still be toward the top of the list if he ends up playing.
For every fan who can’t stand to see more checkdown passes on third and long, there is a silver lining in this study. Wilson had the highest checkdown rate on third and fourth downs at 16.5 percent. He checked down 17 times on 103 drop backs. Aaron Rodgers, despite being second on the overall list, didn’t even appear on the top 10 for third and fourth downs. He seemed to be going for the conversion with intermediate or deep throws more often.
The Steelers’ offense wouldn’t look the same with Rodgers as it did with Wilson, but don’t expect the checkdowns to go away.