Just in case you missed it: Love for Carson Wentz from ESPN
Those of you who say Carson Wentz gets too much credit will be tremendously disappointed by this story.
There’s been a ton of discussion surrounding the Philadelphia Eagles recently. We’ve all debated their off-season additions and their recent OTAs. With so much going on, it can be easy to miss out on a story or two. Here’s one that you’ll definitely find interesting. In a recent release by ESPN, six NFL insiders sat down and discussed their predictions for the 2017 season. As you’d expect, Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz had his name come up in the conversation.
NFL insiders Dan Graziano, Mike Sando and Aaron Schatz were joined by fellow insiders Kevin Seifert, Field Yates and Matt Bowen. They discussed a bevy of topics. One of those topics was their debate on the which quarterback they expected to make the biggest leap in 2017. When the votes were tallied, Sando, Seifert, Bowen and Yates all favored Carson Wentz.
Schatz pitched in with a vote for Los Angeles Rams quarterback Jared Goff, the man taken one spot ahead of Wentz in the 2016 NFL Draft. Graziano went with Tyrod Taylor of the Buffalo Bills.
Inside The Iggles‘ argument for Wentz:
The Goff vote makes sense because there’s nowhere for him to go but up. Things can’t get much worse than they did in 2016. Anything that happens in Los Angeles has to be seen as a step forward. The Tyrod Taylor vote is debatable, but it kind of makes sense. Both of those arguments are stories better suited for another day.
Philadelphia Eagles
As for Wentz, his first season in Philadelphia resulted in 3,782 passing yards and 16 touchdowns. Along the way, he had four 300-yard passing games. That added him to a list of Eagles rookie quarterbacks who have thrown for 300 yards multiple times in a game. The only other name on that list was Nick Foles.
His 364 yards in week nine against the New York Giants marks the second-highest total for a rookie quarterback in team history. When time ran out on the clock in the season finale against the Dallas Cowboys, Wentz had made history. He set an NFL record for completions by a rookie with 379.
What’s more amazing is he did all of that with questionable talent around him. His receivers, on quite a few occasions, let him down with bad route running and key drops in important drives.
Moving forward:
It appears much of that has now been corrected. Bowen believes new Eagles wide receiver Alshon Jeffery has the biggest chance to make the biggest difference in the 2017 NFL season. As if that wasn’t a big enough move, the Eagles added another of the off-season’s biggest fish in the free agent pool, wide receiver Torrey Smith.
When you add both, along with draftees Shelton Gibson and Mack Hollins, to a receiving corps that includes Jordan Matthews, who could flourish in the role of slot receiver, it’s easy to see why fans are excited. Those of you who have insisted that the Eagles build around Wentz have gotten your wish.
The rest is now up to him.