Philadelphia Eagles Week 1 rookie review: Carson Wentz dazzles

Reviewing the Philadelphia Eagles rookies’ first regular season action.

The Philadelphia Eagles have a plethora of youngsters on their squad and it’s always fun to check in to see how they are developing. It’s very early in the season, so it’s hard to get an idea of just how far along they’ve come since they were thrown into the fire this preseason. But it won’t hurt to see where they are early on.

We’ll start off with the rockstar himself, Carson Wentz.

Carson Wentz

Wentz was spectacular in his first career start, going 22 of 37 for 278 yards and 2 touchdowns. He showed terrific anticipation, incredible arm talent and a strong ability to sense pressure, getting the ball out as quickly as possible. Wentz looks like the real deal, even though you may want to hold off on the excitement until he plays a few more games. However, it’s hard not to be impressed with some of the throws Wentz made Sunday.

This one was particularly special:

This is what @gregcosell would call a 'DNA throw'. You either have this, or you don't. Wow. #Eagles pic.twitter.com/i0syncgsbn
— Fran Duffy (@EaglesXOs) September 12, 2016

That is not a throw a rookie should make. Wentz placed the ball in an area where only his receiver could get it and delivered it at a high enough velocity that he was able to fit it into a very small window.

Wentz looked great in his first game, but we’ll need to see more performances like this until we can officially begin to start thinking about when he will be inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Isaac Seumalo

Seumalo was inactive for the first game of the season. Seumalo showed some good signs in the preseason, but still needs some polishing before he can become a regular in the Eagles’ lineup.

Wendell Smallwood

It was a quiet outing for Smallwood, who only had a single carry that went for one yard. It should be noted, however, that Smallwood is the team’s fourth running back behind Ryan Mathews, Darren Sproles and Kenjon Barner, all of whom unsurprisingly made some nice plays Sunday. Smallwood is also coming off a concussion suffered in the preseason, which may have been partially responsible for his low amount of reps. Smallwood did get an opportunity to return a kick, which is promising.

For the time being, Smallwood is nothing more than a depth player, but he should see a larger role down the stretch.

Halapoulivaati Vaitai

Vaitai was inactive against the Browns, but figures to be an important piece to the Eagles’ offensive line, especially if/when Lane Johnson is given his 10-game suspension. It may not be long before we see Vaitai on the field.

Jalen Mills

Leodis McKelvin went down with an apparent hamstring injury Sunday, giving Mills an opportunity to show if he was as good as he looked over the summer. Mills didn’t blow any minds, but he did show some good glimpses of what he can do. On a third and long play, Robert Griffin III hit Corey Coleman near the first down mark, but Mills was there to knock Coleman out of bounds short of the sticks. Mills allowed the reception, but kept it from becoming a bigger play than it could have been, which is good for the rookie out of LSU.

Mills made another nice play later in the game. On a 3rd and 14, Griffin ran to his right in hopes of picking up a first down, but Mills forced him out of bounds with a crushing hit. As it turns out, Mills’ hit caused Griffin to be put on injured reserve. While it’s unfortunate that Griffin got hurt, it’s good to see Mills being more physical out there.

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