NFL experts give Eagles QB Carson Wentz an edge over Dak Prescott

NFL experts give Eagles quarterback a top-ten nod as he edges out one of his rivals in a recent ranking of every starting NFL quarterback.

For whatever reason, the debate continues to go on. Sure, that’s the nature of the NFL and it gets the adrenaline pumping, especially on days where it doesn’t seem that much else is going on in the football world, but some things should be obvious now. If you can’t see that Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz is one of the best young talents in pro football, you should seriously consider being silent when conversations about football are happening.

We can all attest to the theory that, at some point, he has to be on the field for a few playoff games, and he has to start winning them. We all can make reasonable arguments for and against his greatness and use stats to both support and debunk that claim. Still, the facts are the facts.

Sure, the playoff games that have gone Philly’s way during Doug Pederson‘s era have been won with Nick Foles at the helm, but there’s no playoff appearance in 2017 without ’11’. In 2018, he literally played with a broken back when any mere mortal wouldn’t have been able to get out of bed or any other quarterback would have stood on the sideline with a baseball cap on.

During the 2019-2020 season, at some point or another, he lost his top players at running back, wide receiver, along the offensive line, and at tight end as the team was ravaged by injury. His offensive coordinator of the past two seasons was clearly in over his head. Oh, and by the way, we know that at least two of his wide receivers were out to get him.

You all can argue among yourselves about the identity of those wide receivers, but if you don’t believe that doesn’t play a part in chemistry, again, you should be silent when conversations about football are being held.

Despite all of that, Wentz won anyway. When he needed to be great, he was excellent, and he did it with castoffs and scout team guys. Some of you may never be able to acknowledge that, but have you noticed that most of the people with an opinion we respect can’t stop raving about this guy? That ought to tell you something.

Add Ali Bhanpuri, Tom Blair, Gennaro Filice and Dan Par of NFL.com to the list of those of us who get it. Recently, they ranked every starting quarterback from top to bottom. Not only did Wentz earn a top-ten ranking. He edged out a division rival, one so many football fans erroneously keep labeling as being better. Take a look at the commentary.

"Wentz really picked up his play during the second half of the campaign, finally making magic with his makeshift receiving corps. The Eagles QB1 edges out Dak Prescott in my book because he was able to do as much as (if not more than) Dak down the stretch with far less talent around him."

Bhanpuri, Blair, Filice, and Parr all rank Wentz tenth. They all slot Dak Prescott behind him.  Coincidence? It probably isn’t. Since most of you love numbers, let’s look at some of the most important. ’11’ threw for 4,039 pass yds and 27 touchdowns while only throwing seven picks. He ran for another 243 yards and picked up a touchdown with his legs.

He again set franchise records (just like he did in 2016 and in 2017), but most importantly he helped his team win the NFC East with mostly nothing around him. We’ve seen what he’s been able to do when he’s had the talent around him. Imagine what he would do if Philly surrounded him with more. The possibilities are endless, and there’s nowhere for ’11’ to go but up.

Opinions are only as valuable as one’s knowledge of a particular subject. Every time we poll players, coaches, and the NFL’s legends of the media, we hear Wentz is great. When we poll some of the fans, especially fans of other teams, the opinions are mixed. That ought to be all that you need to see. That ought to be telling you something. Wentz is among the league’s best and brightest. He’s proven it again in 2019.