There was a time not so long ago when Russell Wilson was lauded among the best QBs in the league.

A 9X Pro Bowler and Super Bowl champion, the Seattle Seahawks version of Russell Wilson was a sure-fire Hall of Famer.

But after a tumultuous tenure in Denver, many are left wondering if he can re-kindle that form with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Well, according to former NFL QB and current analyst for NBC Sports, Chris Simms, his decline has little to do with his actual level of play:

Russell Wilson comes in at 21 on Chris Simms QB Rankings

“I would say he’s a guy that still has top-notch ability. But he’s lost his way in trusting himself and trusting what he sees on the football field, and being a little too, I think, worried about his overall standing in the pantheon of quarterbacks and what it might look like if he plays this way in this game or whatever else,” Simms said of Wilson’s ranking, via the Chris Simms Unbuttoned podcast. “He lets too much of that stuff influence him, in my opinion. I wanna say to him just like, ‘Hey man, stop thinking so much. Just let it fly a little bit.”

I fully agree here. While Wilson may have lost a step athletically from his peak days, his pure QB play has yet to take a hit when watching his film. The ball location, accuracy, and most of all, arm strength, still shine.

But whether it was a total mess in year one with HC Nathaniel Hackett, or an arranged marriage with Sean Payton last year, Wilson never played with that free-flowing, playmaking nature in Denver, something we had become accustomed to in Seattle.

And some of his actions while in Denver may have contributed to that. There was of course the story that one of the first things Wilson did when he arrived in Denver was create his own private office as opposed to having a space in the locker room like all the other players.

Sean Payton quickly changed that and Wilson wasn’t as verbose in his pressers and media sessions as before.But there is a fine balance of focusing on the here and now and still being allowed to be yourself. Wilson has seemingly found that in Pittsburgh, or at least in the early portion of his time there.