Fourteen games into the 2017 season, Philadelphia Eagles second-year quarterback Carson Wentz looked like he was on his way to an NFL MVP.
However, after Wentz suffered a torn ACL and LCL, the Eagles star would be forced to miss the rest of the season. Eagles fans are well aware of how the rest of that season went as backup Nick Foles would lead the team to the first Super Bowl win in franchise history.
Going into 2018, there were legitimate questions regarding who would be the Eagles starting quarterback. Do you go with the young star that dominated for most of last season or do you go with the guy who went on an incredible run to end the season and led the team to the Super Bowl?
The job would eventually go to Wentz once he returned from injury and despite being 5-6 in his 11 starts, the third-year signal-caller had a solid statistical season completing 69.6 percent of his passes for 3,-74 yards, 21 touchdowns and seven interceptions. Still, after such a serious injury, it looked like Wentz had lost some of the athleticism that had allowed him to dominate in 2017.
The 6-foot-5, 237-pound quarterback has built upon his 2018 comeback year putting up similar numbers in 2019. The former No. 2 overall pick has completed 63.4 percent of his passes for 3,431 yards, 25 touchdowns and seven interceptions in 14 games.
So, the question remains, where does Wentz rank among current NFL quarterbacks. While, he hasn't become the absolute superstar people expected him to be after 2017, Wentz is still better than the majority of quarterbacks in the NFL. Additionally, at only 26 years old, the Eagles star still has plenty of room to improve.
Wentz isn't putting up eye popping numbers but he's been efficient, especially in the team's last few games. Considering the wide receiver situation in Philadelphia this season, what Wentz has been able to accomplish is pretty remarkable.
Alshon Jeffery has missed four games so far this year and will be out for the rest of the season. Nelson Agholor has missed three games and DeSean Jackson has been injured pretty much the whole season.
What Wentz has had left to throw to is the tight end duo of Zach Ertz and Dallas Goedert, rookies Miles Sanders and JJ Arcega-Whiteside and former college quarterback Greg Ward.
It's Wentz's ability to do what he has with how little he has had to work with that lead me to proclaiming Wentz as a top 10 quarterback in the league. He's not ahead of guys like Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson, Russell Wilson, Aaron Rodgers and Deshaun Watson. However, I think the argument can be made that Wentz is a better quarterback than anyone not on that list.
There are quarterbacks that throw more yards or have more touchdowns that aren't on that list but if I'm choosing between one of them and Wentz, most of the time I'm choosing Wentz.
Follow Us
Subscribe