Updated Jul 12, 2012 - 6:58 pm

Tony Softli: Wilson will eventually be Seahawks' starter

listen Listen: Tony Softli thinks Russell Wilson will eventually be Seahawks' starter

Tony Softli, a former personnel executive with the Panthers and Rams, tells "Bob and Groz" why he thinks Russell Wilson is the quarterback of the future for the Seahawks.

By Brady Henderson

Former NFL front-office executive Tony Softli is predicting that rookie Russell Wilson will eventually be the Seahawks' starting quarterback, even if he doesn't win the job during training camp.

Softli joined "Bob and Groz" in-studio on Wednesday for a 40-minute discussion that led off with the Seahawks' three-way quarterback battle between Wilson, Matt Flynn and Tarvaris Jackson. Softli isn't sold on Flynn, who signed a three-year deal that includes $10 million guaranteed after spending four seasons as Aaron Rodgers' backup in Green Bay. He doesn't think Jackson has much of a shot, predicting that last year's starter will be this year's "odd-man-out."

Tony Softli thinks Russell Wilson was the fourth best quarterback in the draft. (AP)

Softli raved about Wilson's athleticism and leadership. He said Wilson "throws a better ball" than Drew Brees, the Saints' record-setting quarterback, and that it's only a matter of time before Wilson proves that he's a better quarterback than Flynn and Jackson.

"I think he is the future, there's no question," Softli said. "Flynn, Jackson, they better not open the door because this guy will slam it shut."

According to Softli, who was a personnel executive for the Panthers and Rams, Wilson was the fourth best quarterback in the 2012 draft -- behind Andrew Luck, Robert Griffin III and Ryan Tannehill. Five quarterbacks were drafted before the Seahawks took Wilson with the 12th pick in the third round.

"This guy is five-foot-10 and five-eighths," Softli said of Wilson's height, which is short by NFL quarterback standards. "That's the only reason that he went that late in the draft. A steal by [general manager John Schneider] and coach [Pete] Carroll to get him in the third round.

"... you're going to have to roll him out, you're going to have to play him a little bit like Wisconsin did," Soflti said, suggesting measures the Seahawks can take to combat the challenges presented by Wilson's height. "But I think this guy can also stand in the pocket and really deliver some nice balls. I like everything about this guy."

Wilson made the Seahawks' quarterback battle a three-way affair after impressing coaches during the team's rookie minicamp. The Seahawks finished organized team activities and minicamp without a decision at quarterback and will continue to split reps between the three when training camp begins later this month. Softli thinks the competition will be a legitimate one.

While it wasn't entirely clear, the comments he made Wednesday -- and on Saturday during his appearance on "The John Clayton Show" -- suggest that he thinks Wilson will overtake Flynn at some point during the season.

"I think that once he picks up this offense he'll be ahead of Flynn not only athletically but [in terms of] positional attributes as well," Softli said. "I like what Flynn brings to the table because he does have some experience, and I think it's going to be a good competition between the two, but when it's all said and done I think Wilson will be the guy."

In the video below, Bob Stelton and Dave Grosby discuss the possibility of Softli's prediction coming true.

You can download Wednesday's podcast here.

Related: Kurt Warner weighs in on Seahawks' quarterback battle

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Oregon Duck fan wrote...

Its what....

July 11, 2012 11:34 pm

ive been saying all along, heck its what Pete Carroll has been saying all along: "The Hawks are gonna bring good talented players into compete "there going to upgrade the talent pool" And thats including the QB position, heck if Both Wilson, and Flynn end up being good QBs then Seattle could trade one of them and get a high level draft pick in return! Dont let The money do the talking on who should start, let the guy who is the better overall option! Come on Man!

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Hawkman wrote...

agreed..

July 12, 2012 5:22 pm

Play Flynn right from the start and trade TJack for a pick. There are a couple of teams that would pick him up. There is still some unforeseen from Tjack because of the short season and injury. But that could be in our favor for the trade. Might provide us with some value. We will never really know if he could have been. But one thing is for sure he has proven a couple of points. He stays in the pocket to long with his decision making ability and his accuracy is not where we need it to be. Wilson has both of these talents already. He just needs time. Flynn will have a fight on his hands. But yeah for us. I like Wilson's package. He has it all but height. But he played behind the biggest Oline in College and did well. So I say lets do it. The opening of camp should prove to be interesting. Go Hawks!!!

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Oregon Duck fan wrote...

Well and thankfully....

July 12, 2012 5:59 pm

for Wilson, and possibly for us all, Andy Dalton came out and played well as a rookie last year, actually changing the view of Pete Carroll on weather a rookie qb could come into the nfl right away and play well! I know everyone was kind of frustrated with the Hawks in not picking up Dalton, but that might have been a blessing in disguise (I think Russell Wilson has a higher ceiling than Dalton) Sorry Russell no punn intendended on the height thing :)

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Newton wrote...

He is one sharp top shelf quality QB.

July 12, 2012 4:38 pm

Luck for us Seahawk fans.

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wrsawy12 wrote...

in with flynn

July 12, 2012 6:31 pm

They better hope flynn wins the job and plays well, otherwise it will be a long year. They have a tough schedule, in an improving division. As far as Wilson, the odds are against him big time! QB's that short have had limited success. And don't say "Doug Flutie" Flutie had one decent year in the NFL, he never one a playoff game and did very little when playing in the real league. (He played in Canada - a joke). Fran the man in Minnesota, but he was an even fix foot along with Brees.

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Cashm wrote...

dou? yep

July 12, 2012 7:54 pm

I find it Ironic you're so quick to discount the CFL considering our circumstances.

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kiddenme wrote...

I thought he was 5'11 at the NFL combine?

July 13, 2012 6:52 am

and drew brees is one inch taller and is one of the best passers the game has ever seen. I think Clayton and a few others either misjudged how tall he is or sensationalized this for a story. 5'11 and great athletic ability is a lot better than 6 2 and slow feet.

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stumanu wrote...

He's a freak of nature!

July 13, 2012 9:27 am

Have you noticed his hands? Biggest hands I have ever seen on any QB! I can't imagine being one inch shorter than Brees will mean he can't play at this level. This will be fun to watch.

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Richardfg7 wrote...

I love this team.

July 13, 2012 10:00 am

This team has zero actual needs. Sure you can always get better but there are pro-bowl level players at every position. Big ,fast guys that are young and smart and love the game. In my mind it's all in the coaches hands now.

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Richardfg7 wrote...

I really think you spend to much time looking for the negative side of an issue.

July 13, 2012 11:09 am

Like if Wilson starts signing Flynn is not automatically a bad thing. They are still paying well within range for the position. If Flynn struggles in this offense you can't automatically say he's bad because he's proved what he can do in a known good offense.I've watched both his starts and the kid can play. Period. I don't care that it's just two starts. Flynn CAN play in the NFL.

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ciscopack wrote...

Show 'em Russell

July 13, 2012 11:48 am

Seattle is getting a great guy, on and off the field. He'll make a very good NFL QB and people in NC and VA will be watching.

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rideaducati wrote...

Flynn or Wilson? I don't care which one..

July 14, 2012 3:10 pm

Just please, please, please don't force Tarvaris on me for another start, I've seen enough of that failed experiment. I know Pete sees the same thing as I do. If he didn't, he would not have brought in two QB's this off season. I believe that Tarvaris is only going to be on the team long enough to show the players that the other two QB's are actually better. Pete knows that Tarvaris will lose the competition fair and square.

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Derrol_o wrote...

Tarvaris

July 14, 2012 10:18 pm

"I believe that Tarvaris is only going to be on the team long enough to show the players that the other two QB's are actually better" Come on, do you actually think that's a realistic or legit reason to keep 3 QBs in the running when everybody knows that keeping 3 QBs in the race takes much needed reps away from the other two? If that's all it was then Tarvaris would already be gone. It's funny to me that everyone keeps saying Tarvaris is gone, that Pete has already made up his mind and that the QB race is all smoke and mirrors. Pete knows the importance of reps more than anyone, including you and me so when a clear cut winner and clear cut loser emerges Pete won't waste a second pulling the trigger. Until then, it's a 3 QB race and Tarvaris is in it. As a matter of fact, evidently he's still the frontrunner as we speak and that hasn't changed.

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rideaducati wrote...

Derrol,

July 16, 2012 1:49 am

Pete and John were very outspoken last season when they signed Tarvaris. They blasted the Vikings organization for "crapping" on him the whole time he was there. They told everyone that Tarvaris was never given a chance. For them to do the same thing after only one season makes them have to eat a bit of crow. They will keep Tarvaris around long enough to make it very clear that Tarvaris is not as good as the other two, which is clear to almost everyone already. Pete just wants to make it obvious to everyone that Tarvaris lost his job fair and square. I'm sure if Tarvaris is the best QB on the team, Seattle will keep him and start him. I am also sure that he is not the best QB on the team... If he isn't the starter, and he won't be, he should be cut so that Wilson can get all the practice reps he can. Why throw 4 million away on Tarvaris if he isn't starting when they can roll the 4 mil into next year's cap?

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Derrol_o wrote...

Issue about Wilson's height

July 14, 2012 10:56 pm

Bob and Groz mention at around the 0:55 mark about Wilson probably being a first round pick if he was 6-3 and that's something that's been said many times before. But the thing is, he's NOT 6-3. You can't write that off as a non-issue because of the history. The league sure doesn't and that's why Wilson dropped to the 3rd round. How can people carry on like it's a non-issue when it most clearly is an issue in the minds of scouts and personnel people around the league? As far as I know no sub 6-foot QB has ever won the Super Bowl. It doesn't mean it won't happen but based on the history the odds aren't in Wilson's favor. Compare Wilson's market value to RGIII's. Since a player's market value is whatever someone's willing to pay for that player, RGIII's value is worth three firsts and a second and Wilson's value is one third round pick. It has everything to do with the fact that RGIII is 6-2 (and change) and Wilson is 5-10 (and change) because other than that their skillsets are fairly similar. As do many Hawk fans, I love Wilson's skillset and what he brings to the table and if anyone can break the 6-foot "barrier" and break into the elite ranks it might be him. But until that happens you can't just blow that off as something insignificant without giving a thumbs down to the collective thinking of NFL personnel people. They know the history, the inner nuances and dynamics of the game and they have a pretty good idea WHY short QBs aren't generally successful.

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Bob Stelton

Bob Stelton is the co-host of "Bob and Groz". He came to 710 ESPN Seattle from 101 ESPN in St. Louis and had previously worked for Sporting News Radio in Chicago and Santa Monica, Calif. Bob began his radio career in Seattle in 1997 after a failed attempt to become a rock star.

The Groz

Dave Grosby is the co-host of "Bob and Groz." The Groz has spent the last 21 years of his 39-year broadcast career as a Seattle sports talk show host. Dave is also the play-by-play announcer for Seattle U basketball on KTTH 770. Before coming to Seattle, Dave worked at KFI in Los Angeles and KFBK in Sacramento. He's been married to his wife Bonnie for 23 years.

Colin Paisley

After two years as the producer for "Brock and Salk," Colin Paisley now produces "Bob and Groz." Colin also hosts "Seattle Sports at Night" with Tom Wassell and Matt Pitman. Colin came to 710 ESPN Seattle after five years at various FM music stations in Bellingham and Seattle. In addition to his time as producer and host, Colin likes to spend his time embracing his "Slacker Gen-Y" persona by napping and not caring about stuff. Plus he likes tons of bands you've never heard of, and once you hear of them he'll stop liking them.

Updated Jul 12, 2012 - 6:58 pm

Tony Softli: Wilson will eventually be Seahawks' starter

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