If Russell Wilson never wins an MVP award Bobby Wagner Color Rush Jersey , one of the likely culprits will be a lack of high-volume passing. w Brees, Wilson gets far less awards consideration than Patrick Mahomes, Andrew Luck, Rivers, and Brees. I believe a part of that perception that downgrades Wilson in the eyes of the media and therefore the public is that he’s 22nd in pass attempts and if he’s not being asked to make as many plays, maybe it’s because he’s not as important.There are other factors we must consider too, and when you bring them all together, I think Mahomes’ case for 2018 MVP becomes pretty clear anyway.His Kansas City Chiefs, Wilson’s opponent this Sunday night, are 11-3. He’s got 45 touchdown passes, 11 more than any other player. He’s first in yards per attempt among relevant QBs. He’s moving ahead of Brees in passer rating. And he’s got the volume, ranking sixth in attempts. Basically, Mahomes has comparable rate stats to Wilson, if not a little better, and at a much higher volume. I have no question in my mind that Mahomes has been the MVP this season and rarely do I believe that a person is so clearly the right choice.Which is crazy to consider when you recall that John Schneider interestingly attended his pro day in 2017 and that the Seahawks were rumored to be considering drafting Mahomes in the first round that year if the Chiefs hadn’t traded up and selected him 10th overall.Schneider could be seen as one of two GMs at Mahomes’ pro day, along with John Lynch of the San Francisco 49ers, who opted instead to take Solomon Thomas and then trade for Jimmy Garoppolo midseason rather than take Mahomes or Deshaun Watson. NFL Network’s Mike Mayock also reported that New York Giants head coach Ben McAdoo was there, and he’d be fired less than a year later. We can also see the QB coaches for the Jacksonville Jaguars and Washington footballs in attendance, and we know what’s happened for those teams recently as far as quarterback problems.The big difference between those teams at that time and Seattle was of course that the Seahawks have Wilson. But Schnneider didn’t go to Texas Tech that day to see anyone other than Mahomes and while he ended up going 10th overall Justin Coleman Color Rush Jersey , it was unclear if he’d be a first round pick so Seattle may have thought they had their chance. That went away when Kansas City made the move of the day, giving up two firsts and a third to get Mahomes even though they already had Alex Smith.The team ended up getting back a third rounder and cornerback Kendall Fuller in dealing Smith to Washington, one of the teams that didn’t pick Mahomes despite being at his pro day.For as long as Wilson is on the Seahawks, I expect the team to show interest in young quarterbacks in the draft and around the league, simply because I believe the front office sees value in the position and having options. The Green Bay Packers got Aaron Rodgers this way. The New England Patriots got some value back while having a quality backup for four years when selecting Jimmy Garoppolo. And the Chiefs found Mahomes this way, though Smith isn’t on the level of Wilson. We’ll never know what would have happened if Schneider had gotten the opportunity to take Mahomes, but I do believe the interest was real.On Sunday night, with both teams needing a win to secure a playoff-related goal, the two sides will get their closest looks at each other yet. Let’s hope that the MVP on this night at least is the QB the Seahawks have, not the QB that they may have wanted to have next. On Saturday the Seattle Seahawks will take on the Dallas Cowboys in one of the two NFC Wild Card games slated to take place this weekend, and don’t be surprised if quarterback Russell Wilson tucks the ball and runs more than he typically did this season. It was nearly a year ago that the Seahawks cleaned house on their coaching staff, replacing Darrell Bevell, Tom Cable and Kris Richard, while also jettisoning Heath Farwell and Travis Jones, and putting Carl Smith out to pasture. The team then went about systematically gutting the roster, with longtime fan favorites such as Richard Sherman, Michael Bennett and DeShawn Shead being shown the door, while others like Kam Chancellor and Cliff Avril stepped away from the playing field due to injuries. In short, it was a complete overhaul of the team and staff. And that led to the season that Russell Wilson had Russell Wilson Color Rush Jersey , where he set career highs in touchdown passes while tying his career low in interceptions. However, where Wilson’s game saw a big drop in the numbers was on the ground. Wilson had the fewest rushing attempts of his career in 2018, as he took to Brian Schottenheimer’s quarterback coaching and did more damage from the pocket with his arm and less with his legs. Here’s a look at how Wilson’s 2018 stacked up with the other seasons of his career in terms of rushing attempts. Russell Wilson rushing attempts by season compared to team rushing attemptsSeasonRussell Wilson rushing attemptsRussell Wilson rushing attempts (excluding kneel downs)Team rushing attemptsSeasonRussell Wilson rushing attemptsRussell Wilson rushing attempts (excluding kneel downs)Team rushing attemptsIt’s easy to see how Wilson’s rushing attempts dropped drastically this year compared to the prior six season, even coming in lower than his injury plagued 2016 season. However, what doesn’t jump right out from those numbers is when Wilson would take off running, and whether there was any sort of pattern to it. So, for that, let’s look at his rushing attempts by game.Russell Wilson rushing attempts by gameOpponentOutcomeAttemptsYardsYard Per CarryOpponentOutcomeAttemptsYardsYard Per CarryNow, that table includes Wilson’s 16 2018 kneel downs, so let’s strip those out and look at the numbers without those kneels included. Russell Wilson 2018 rushing game log with kneel downs removedOpponentOutcomeAttemptsYardsYard Per CarryOpponentOutcomeAttemptsYardsYard Per CarryAnd those numbers make it pretty evident that Wilson takes off running when the team needs it. When they don’t need him to make plays with his legs, such as against the Carolina Panthers and Green Bay Packers, they don’t ask him to run with the ball. When they need it - against the Los Angeles Rams, Kansas City Chiefs and Minnesota Vikings, Wilson seemed more than happy to do damage on the ground. Thus, with the Seahawks looking for their first road win of the season against a team with a winning record against the Cowboys on Saturday, and with the season over if they are unable to come up with that victory, don’t be surprised if we see Russ score his first rushing touchdown of the 2018 season.