Eagles talk: Carson Wentz was the NFC East’s best pocket passer in 2018

Here’s something for all of you Carson Wentz haters out there. The Philadelphia Eagles’ QB1 was the NFC East’s best pocket passer in 2018.

Let’s get you caught up. The Philadelphia Eagles draft Carson Wentz in 2016. As a rookie, he sets a team record, and you can see the potential. In year two, he’s a legitimate MVP candidate, but he suffers a devastating knee injury. Then, his team wins the NFC East and eventually the Super Bowl while being led by his backup, the only Super Bowl MVP in team history, Nick Foles.

Wentz returns for year three but never quite looks like the guy that blazed through the league in 2017. His season would end prematurely, this time because of a broken bone in his spine. Foles stepped in again, led the Eagles on another run to get them in the playoffs, and even though this ride would end in a divisional round loss, Foles had done just enough to ensure he’d be in the hearts of Eagles fans forever (as if he wasn’t already).

The next thing we all know, there’s a fan-made quarterback controversy, Philly says they’re sticking with 2016’s second-overall selection, Foles gets scooped up by the Jacksonville Jaguars, Eagles chairman and CEO Jeffrey Lurie says he’d like his team to draft a quarterback, and debate rages on about what Philly should have done or if they made the right choice.

We haven’t even brought up the discussions of contract extensions.

So, here we are. Year four of the Carson Wentz era is set to begin. The discussions about whether or not he’s selfish are over, and those of us who are paying attention know the best is yet to come.

Let’s get something straight. Having a broken bone in your spine has to be uncomfortable. It’s hard to understand why so many people are oblivious to the fact that an injury of that nature would affect one’s on-field performance, especially in the NFL, but that’s exactly the case.

Despite the fact that, by some fans’ standards, Wentz took a step backwards in 2018, there was still a lot that we witnessed that we can be excited about. Often, we talk about his improvisational skills. Rarely do we discuss his ability to sit in the pocket and dissect defenses, but trust and believe you Wentz haters, it’s there.

According to Pro Football Focus, Wentz was the highest rated quarterback from inside the pocket in the NFC East during 2018’s regular season. Take a look.

Check out his three-touchdown performance in London:

Clip provided by the NFL’s official YouTube channel

Take our word for it. The Eagles are in good hands, and they’re going to be just fine. 2019 will be a bounce back year for Mr. Wentz.