In his introduction to the Denver Broncos, Russell Wilson showed why he will get the details right

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — The 51-minute, 58-second press conference introducing the Broncos’ long-sought quarterbacking answer had ended, and Russell Wilson had made the quick transition from quarterback to family man — and, most importantly, Dad.

It was time for pictures. He held his freshly-sewn, No. 3 jersey while being flanked by others — first, general manager George Paton and coach Nathaniel Hackett, and then family members, including the three children who accompanied Wilson and his wife, Ciara.

Her eldest son and Wilson’s stepson, Future, was front and center. Aged 7 and bounding with energy, Future was dashing in a dark suit. But there was just one item missing.

Wilson, ever prepared, produced a bright-orange pocket square, quickly folded it and placed it in the breast pocket of Future’s jacket.

Now, it was time for the shot.

Russell Wilson is meticulous. And he just wants to have all of the details right.

WHICH LEADS US TO his recent family vacation, when he received word that the Broncos had interest in him. Wilson, who had a no-trade clause, could effectively determine where his career would continue.

“Over the last week-and-a-half or so — 10 or 14 days — I’ve really had to kind of study the Denver Broncos a little bit pretty quickly and try to figure out was this the right fit for me and everything else,” Wilson said, “and if it wasn’t there won’t be a change.

“All the signs said, ‘Yes.’”

A key step was meeting with Paton and Hackett to learn their vision for him and the Broncos.

“We met for several hours — a few hours along the way,” Wilson said. “As I got to talk to George, I asked him what his plan was and where the team was going — what’s next. He answered all of those questions — boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. He had a plan.

“Same thing — I asked Coach Hackett. ‘What’s your plan for the team? Obviously being an offensive-minded coach coming in with all of your experience, what’s your plan with that? How are you going to lead these guys and how are we going to do this together?’ That’s the journey of being a head coach and a quarterback in this game. It’s a journey together and that was a thing that was super exciting to know. He had the same vision about winning.”

Wilson also reached out to Peyton Manning, continuing a connection that dates back to Wilson’s days in the 2000s at the Manning Passing Academy.

But the real work came when Wilson dove into film study. He watched every Broncos game from the 2021 season — even the preseason contests — “two or three times,” he said. His study was meticulous.

And based on the fact that he mentioned Jerry Jeudy’s ability to “go attack the ball and snag it off their head — I think it was against the Jets,” he had clearly watched some 2020 games, too, since he described Jeudy’s second-quarter touchdown in an empty MetLife Stadium at the expense of then-Jets cornerback Pierre Desir.

By the time Wilson met media Wednesday, he seemed prepared enough to give full scouting reports on his teammates, although he stuck to the bullet points.

It helps that he requires little sleep.

“I don’t sleep much,” he said. “If I get four or five hours, I’m good.”

And when he’s awake, his mind is always churning. No amount of video study is enough.

“I’m a little crazy,” Wilson said. “I wanted to watch the preseason to see some of the younger guys who maybe got injured or got hurt or whatever their situation was. Maybe they didn’t play yet or was behind a great player. A big part of it was I wanted to watch the full games because the full games tell you everything.”

What the games told him was the same thing Paton said: The core is there.

“I think we have a really good foundation in place,” Paton said, “and I think Russell saw that.

THIS WAS THE FOURTH TIME in exactly four years that a new quarterback had been introduced at Broncos headquarters.

Last year’s starter, Teddy Bridgewater, arrived just as COVID-19 vaccines were reaching the general population and did not get the full show at UCHealth Training Center. But in 2018 and 2019, Case Keenum, Joe Flacco and Drew Lock all received the bells, whistles and photo opportunities.

Wilson was different, for obvious reasons.

For starters, none of the previous candidates likely spawned a “F*** yeah!” reply from the head coach when the idea of pursuing them arose. But that was precisely the response Hackett gave when Paton first broached the possibility of landing the nine-time Pro Bowler.

“I wanted [Hackett] to watch the tape,” Paton said. “He said, ‘I don’t need to watch the tape; he’s kicked my ass many years.’”

Hackett watched anyway.

“When you go against him all the time, you live it, and you don’t like it,” he said. “Looking at it again, I was like, ‘Oh, look at that play. Oh, look at him do that. OK, yes. What else?’”

And now Wilson is on his side. The feelings — well, let’s say they were a bit different than the ones that coursed through Broncos headquarters with their previous quarterback acquisitions.

“Pure joy and excitement,” Hackett said. “You name it, that’s what we felt.”

Then there was Wilson’s control of the proceedings when he had the microphone.

In much the same way as he controls the game on the field, he was in command at the microphone. He made certain to thank myriad Seattle Seahawks coaches, players and executives for what happened the past 10 years; he opted for the high ground.

During the time Wilson spoke and responded to questions, he made a few points clear:

1. He’s in it for the long haul. “Ten to 12 years,” he said.

2. No one will out-work him — but Hackett might be equally devoted. “When you have that level of investment as a player but also as a coach and when those two things can connect or correlate you can make magic. I think that’s what I’m really excited about,” Wilson said. “At the end of the day, it’s about the work, though. It’s every day, the consistency of it, the obsession of it. The wild obsession of working and doing it right every single day and not letting up ever. I think that’s really critical.”

3. His commitment to the community that helped him earn Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year honors in 2020 will come with him to Denver. With his wife, he’s already made his first visit to Children’s Hospital Colorado at the Anschutz Medical Campus. Many more are to come.

He’s focused on the details.

And he believes the best chapter of his career is just beginning.

“To me, I haven’t even gotten started yet,” he said.