Cleveland Browns: What Carson Wentz Needs to do at Senior Bowl

With the Senior Bowl week underway, the Cleveland Browns and their fans alike have their eyes on Carson Wentz.

Given the amount of hype that has built up under him (not his fault), there may not be anywhere to go but down for him. Nevertheless, it is worth knowing what to look for in Wentz both in what he did yesterday and what he can do the rest of the week to help himself and give an indication of why he could go so high in this draft.

The first day of the Senior Bowl practices for small school players is simply looking they belong. As silly as it sounds, the stage and level of competition can trip those guys up and the first day or two, they just do not seem comfortable and are playing from behind.

Wentz, coming from North Dakota State, passed that test. He just went out there, threw the ball around and looked comfortable. The further this week progresses, he should be able to separate himself from the pack and look like a big time quarterback relative to the field he’s competing against.

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Obviously, since these guys are not throwing to their receivers, some of the reps can look clunky and the timing is off, because the chemistry is simply not there. That will change a bit as the week progresses, but for the time being, the focus should be if he is making the throws to the right spots.

The timing may not be right, but if he is throwing an out route a comeback to the outside, the ball should be high and outside. His receiver may or may not catch the ball, but the pass needs go to the right spot and most importantly, not be in a spot where the ball be knocked down or intercepted.

The other fallout from being around a group of 3 other quarterbacks (new development this year) in practice is that someone seems to naturally set the tone with how they throw the ball. Someone seems to throw the ball the hardest and other quarterbacks can get caught trying to keep up in terms of strength and velocity.

2 years ago, one side had Derek Carr, Jimmy Garoppolo, and David Fales were on the same team. Carr threw the ball the hardest and Fales especially tried to keep up and the ball started coming out awkward and out of rhythm because he was trying to overthrow the ball so much. He wasn’t being himself and got caught up in competing with Carr.

On the North team this year, Wentz is the guy setting the tone. The ball tends to explode coming out of his hand and his throwing motion is pretty free and easy. It doesn’t take him a ton of effort and using his body to put a lot on his passes. It will be interesting to see if the other quarterbacks on the North team, including Kevin Hogan out of Stanford, Jeff Driskel from Louisiana Tech and Cody Kessler get caught trying to go throw for throw with Wentz and if they falter as a result.

Not surprisingly, Wentz has quick feet. He is a good athlete and ran the ball quite a bit for the Bison as they went for 2 of their 5 straight national titles with him as their starter. This is important for any quarterback, but it is something to keep an eye on for Wentz, who is 6’5 ¼”, so he can maneuver in the pocket and escape as needed.

With only a week, the offense the Dallas Cowboys are going to give the North team isn’t incredibly complicated, but over the course of the week, the hope is that he takes a bit of ownership of it, anticipate what’s coming and take some level of control.

Jan 10, 2015; Frisco, TX, USA; North Dakota State Bison quarterback Carson Wentz (11) throws a pass during pre game warmups against the Illinois State Redbirds at Pizza Hut Park. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

Obviously, the Cowboys, who might be in the market for Wentz and have the 4^th pick of the draft, have an advantage as they get to see just how well he can process information and potentially, use some of their concepts and terminology if they choose. They could give him a taste of what’s to come if they pick him in April.

The stuff that can be difficult to pick up on TV and can come through more live is how Wentz or really any player interacts with teammates. Is he one of the guys? Does he seem excited to be out here and look engaged? Does he take control? How does he respond to a bad rep?

Some of these things can be coached up to a point to sell something, but generally when the practices start going, especially when it livens up, the true character comes out for better or worse. Players are always being evaluated and they never know what someone is going to pick up that could shift their opinion.

By the end of the week, it should be clear that Wentz is the best quarterback here, but it might be difficult for him to perform to the level of expectations that have been created for the casual onlooker. For many, this is their first exposure to Wentz so they want to see him be great because they have little else to go on at this point.

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The stuff that coaches and scouts want to see may not match up with what fans want to see in given drills or reps. A long overthrow could be a good rep while there are completions that can be bad reps. Scouts and teams are more interested in traits and seeing progress through the week. In actual performance, Wentz has been solid so far, but is doing well relative to what he needs to accomplish to have a successful week here.