First Thing’s First is off on Patrick Mahomes versus Carson Wentz debate

FS1’s Nick Wright and Cris Carter were joined on their highly popular show, First Thing’s First, by Cris canty and proceeded to screw up their assessment of Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz.

Would you take Carson Wentz or Patrick Mahomes? That is the question. Water-cooler talk and arguments in the break room will forever be a part of the workday routine. With another season of NFL football approaching, you can best believe that we’re all in for some heated debates about whether or not the Dallas Cowboys are better than the Philadelphia Eagles, among other things.

You can also expect to argue over whether the New England Patriots dynasty is a result of Tom Brady‘s existence or Bill Belichick’s (it’s because of ’12’), and whether or not that last overturned catch was ruled correctly or not. With that being said, we pose that first question to you again. Is Carson Wentz better than Patrick Mahomes?

Why is that a question you ask? Well, recently in a story by Matt Miller of Bleacher Report, an unnamed NFL scout mentioned that though many see Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes as the standard for young quarterbacks in the NFL, Carson Wentz can lay claim to being just as good. For some reason, that has some in an uproar.

Here’s that quote from Miller’s story.

"I think people forget just how special Carson is. It’s not crazy to expect him to be on the level of Patrick Mahomes as the future of the position. Tom Brady and Drew Brees are nearing the end. The next 15 years, we could be talking about Pat and Carson… He’s that good."

There’s nothing wrong with that right? Well, as you might imagine, that led to a totally different discussion altogether, and people started asking ‘who’s better’.  That was the topic of discussion on FS1’s First Thing’s First recently.

Cris Carter and Nick Wright were joined by Chris Canty, and here’s their take.

Clip courtesy of First Thing’s First’s official YouTube page

First of all, availability isn’t a talent. Sometimes, it’s a dice game. Can we all stop acting like injuries are a knock on Carson Wentz’s career? In a league where guys put up 20 reps on the bench press, they weigh close to 300 pounds, and they run the 40-yard dash in less than five seconds, guys are going to get hurt.

We forget now that Nick Foles dealt with injuries as well. We just remember that he led the Eagles to the Super Bowl (what a great day that was).

It’s like Cris Carter mentioned. If a guy is hit in the right spot by the right guy at the right time, he’s going to go down. It doesn’t matter how he eats, how many reps he’s taken in practice, or how many times he’s studied film.

Patrick Mahomes is amazing and was deserving of the MVP trophy a season ago. No one will deny that. Carson Wentz was deserving of the MVP trophy in 2017 and had he stayed healthy, he would have won it. No one will deny that. Both have flaws. Both have blemishes on their resume.

The Eagles won a Super Bowl without Wentz on the field. Mahomes and the Chiefs had the number-one seed and the benefit of playing the AFC Championship Game at home, and they lost. Both will be great for a long time and may even meet in a Super Bowl of their own. As far as stats go, they’re difficult to place in an ‘apples to apples’ scenario when these two have never played the same schedule.

The debate will rage on. That’s part of loving this great game of ours, but Wentz is good and an amazing talent at the quarterback position. So is Mahomes. Who’s better is arguable (we’ll go with Wentz), but even if you go with Mr. Mahomes, the gap between the two isn’t as chasmic as some will argue. You’ll learn that in 2019.