Eagles talk: Guess where Carson Wentz falls on PFF’s list of quarterbacks

Pro Football Focus ranked their highest graded quarterbacks of 2018 recently. Where they placed the Eagles’ Carson Wentz might surprise you.

Whenever we take a moment and look back at the Philadelphia Eagles‘ 2018 season, whether we just reminisce or check out one of those NFL Films documentaries, it’ll be impossible to do so without looking at the Carson Wentz component.

The 2018 wasn’t supposed to go this way. It isn’t a major surprise how things have turned out, but it just wasn’t supposed to go this way. We thought there may be injury concerns and that Philly would be in good hands if they had to rely on Nick Foles.

We just weren’t prepared for Wentz to sit out with a fracture in his spine.

Settle around the campfire for a story boys and girls.

Once upon a time, life was different for former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Steve Young. He wasn’t in the Pro Football Hall of Fame yet. He hadn’t blown what was then the San Diego Chargers out in the Super Bowl yet. He was simply the guys who was charged with a task that no one would see as enviable, replacing Joe Montana.

Young endured the sporadic boos, the nonstop criticism and the fans’ calls for Montana. Sound familiar? For Wentz, it’s been a frustrating ride. The former MVP candidate has seen people question everything from his performance to his health to whether or not Nick Foles is the better quarterback to lead this Eagles team.

What’s crazy is Wentz is actually the starter.

PFF weighs in.

Here’s the thing. Pro Football Focus could care less about quarterback controversies or MVP-level seasons. They care about the analytics. Recently, they ranked the 2018 regular season’s quarterbacks.

Carson Wentz landed on the list at number 13 with an overall grade of 79.4. Just in case you’re curious, that’s one spot behind the Cincinnati Bengals‘ Andy Dalton and the Minnesota Vikings‘ Kirk Cousins. Here’s what they had to say:

"Wentz fell back down to earth a bit after his breakout 2017 season. His big-time throw percentage (4.5) and turnover-worthy throw percentage (2.99) dropped outside the top-10, as did the two figures from a clean pocket. He’ll look to get healthy and return to his 2017 form to reclaim a top-10 spot on this list in 2019."

There were questions when 2018 began. When might Wentz return? Will he be the same guy? If Wentz can’t go, the Eagles are in good hands with Foles, right?

Here we are, in a familiar spot. We just didn’t arrive here as we thought we would. Wentz is out. Foles is in. The Eagles are in position to defend their title. This time it will be a little different.

If they’re going to host the Lombardi Trophy, they’ll need to win four straight, and they won’t have the convenience of playing any of their games at home.

Again Wentz, PFF’s 13th-ranked quarterback, may have to support his team from the sideline. Seeing ’11’ deliver a Lombardi Trophy to the Eagles and their fans will have to wait.