Pete Carroll knows it’s going to happen at some point. He believes there will be a season that Russell Wilson completes 70% of his passes.

And in Carroll’s eyes, there’s no reason why it can’t be 2019.

“Russ is the best he’s ever been,” Carroll said. “There is no question. He’s the smartest, the farthest along, the most aware, the most in control. He had a great year last year in controlling the offense and he’s just another step towards more of that.”

The closest Wilson has gotten to the magic number was when he completed 68.1% of his passes in 2015. That number was at 65.6% last season. While it doesn’t appear Wilson was all that close in 2018, he actually wasn’t that many completions away given how little he throws the football compared to his peers.

Wilson completed 280-of-427 attempts a year ago. He was just 19 completions (299 total) away from reaching 70%.

Two quarterbacks hit the mark last season: Drew Brees at 74.4% (an NFL record) and Kirk Cousins at 70.1%. Alvin Kamara’s presence alone helped buoy Brees’ numbers. Brees completed 81-of-105 attempts (77%) to Kamara, mostly on checkdowns. Brees completed another 21-of-27 passes (78%) to Mark Ingram. Conversely, Wilson threw just 81 passes to a running back in 2018 (66/81, 81%). An added emphasis of utilizing running backs in the passing game, as was reported throughout camp and the preseason, could help Wilson join the 70% club.

Seahawks offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer was keen to note that Seattle’s emphasis on the vertical passing game compared to other teams has historically done Wilson a disservice in this respect. Wilson had more yards per completion (12.3, sixth in the NFL) than both Brees (11, 22nd) and Cousins (10.1, last in the league) last year.

Regardless of actually getting to 70%, Schottenheimer says, is the importance of having the number in the back of your mind as a goal.

“That’s always a number you’re going to shoot for,” the coach said. “It’s always a good target. Russell certainly has the ability to do that.”

In addition to throwing to running backs more frequently, Wilson’s continued mastery of Schottenheimer’s offense should also serve him well. Carroll explained that Wilson has freedom within the system to check in and out of good or bad looks. That means Wilson can call himself into some easy completions based on what he sees at the line of scrimmage.

Wilson echoed his two coaches and agreed that he’s capable of getting to 70%. But the number he’s most proud of is his touchdown efficiency, something he’d like to maintain or improve upon in 2019. Wilson found the end zone once every 12.2 pass attempts in 2018 – an absurd number. By comparison, he threw one more touchdown than Ben Roethlisberger (35-34) on 248 fewer pass attempts.

But in trademark form, Wilson made sure to reiterate that there’s only one statistic he truly concerns himself with.

“At the end of the day, what I really care about is what it takes to win,” Wilson said. “I think completions help, obviously, moving the ball down the field. I think we want to be in the 70 plus completion percentage if we can every game.

“You realize you can do it. You have to have great players, which we do. You’ve got to throw the ball on time and on the money. I’m looking forward to that.”