FOX Sports’ Colin Cowherd believes that Carson Wentz is the best quarterback drafted since 2015. Is he right?
Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz has always been a name that can spark debate. There seem to be two sides to the Wentz argument, you either love him or you hate him. For FOX Sports personality Colin Cowherd, love would be an understatement.
While recording an episode of The Herd, the host went on this rant about the Eagles second-year signal caller:
"“Forget Cam Newton. Forget Russell Wilson. Forget Andrew Luck, who are established, really, you know, they can play. Let’s just go quarterbacks drafted in the last three years. Jared Goff, Jameis Winston, Marcus Mariota, Dak Prescott, Mitch Trubisky, Deshone Kizer, Paxton Lynch, Carson Wentz; those are the ones we are talking about, right? My feeling is Carson Wentz is going to be bigger and better than all of them. Not just better, but bigger and better.”"
Cowherd gave three advantages/reasons why he believes Wentz will be better than all of them:
"1. “The staff. The head coach. The coordinator. Both former NFL quarterbacks.”2. “They have the best tackle combination, left/right tackle in football, not the Cowboys.”3. “They’ve added wide receivers this offseason, and the year Wentz came in they also went heavy on the offensive line.”"
Those three reasons are obviously up for debate, starting with No. 1. Head coach Doug Pederson is not an established coach in the NFL. After his first season as a head coach in the NFL, Pederson has a lot of growing to do before you can call him an advantage, in my opinion.
More from NFL Spin Zone
- Dallas Cowboys made the trade everyone else should have made
- Pittsburgh Steelers rookie sleeper everyone should be talking about
- Anthony Richardson putting jaw-dropping talent on display immediately
- Denver Broncos’ stud wide receiver might be out for a while
- Washington Commanders: Three takeaways from win over Ravens
No. 2 could spark even more debate, saying the Eagles have the best tackle combination in the NFL. However, that one is easier to argue than calling Pederson an advantage.
Finally, No. 3 is obvious, but also still a question mark. Yes, they did add Alshon Jeffery and Torrey Smith, but it remains to be seen how these new receivers play in 2017. There is no guarantee either can get back to their dominant play.
Cowherd did add a bonus reason after naming three, and one that I believe is his biggest advantage, “And the kid is a gamer.” Wentz is a gamer, and you can see him compete the entire time he is on the field. Philadelphia finally has their man at quarterback that will do whatever it takes to win football games.
This all sounds great if you are an Eagles fan, but the fact of the matter is that Wentz needs to take a leap in 2017. His rookie season wasn’t great, but after you break down what he was working with, you see what gets Cowherd so excited. The new additions on offense give him no excuses this season. If he fails to show improvements in his sophomore season, Cowherd (and all other Wentz supporters) will have some explaining to do.
Next: NFL 2017: Predicting one surprise cut for each team
Although, it doesn’t seem that Cowherd worries about how Wentz will do in his second NFL season.