Carson Wentz has without a doubt set the league on fire from the moment he entered the league. While he was the number two overall pick in the 2016 draft, everyone will agree that he should’ve been number one. Unfortunately, Wentz’s career has been tied to the dreaded ‘I-word’ ever since 2017, but that shouldn’t discount what he’s accomplished since then.
But for whatever reason, the 27-year-old is still overlooked by the NFL, the media, and fans worldwide. Whether it’s being completely excluded from the NFL’s top 100 list, or being the subject of talk-show debate after talk-show debate, Wentz is yet to receive the respect he deserves.
From ‘Wentz’ we came
In 2017, Wentz lead the team to an 11-2 start which helped them secure home advantage in the playoffs. Without his MVP-level form that produced 33 touchdowns and just 7 interceptions, there would be no Lombardi Trophy in Philadelphia right now.
In Carson’s first season without Foles in the QB room, he led the team to a 9-7 record and the NFC East title. It took a lot for him to get there though. He lost his three starting receivers, his veteran running back, and well, it’s easier to list names that weren’t victims of the injury bug that year.
He took the mess that was the 2019 season and turned it into a wake-up party for his critics. Wentz led his team to a 4-0 finish at the end of the season while throwing to players that other teams deemed unworthy.
He had the best season he could possibly have with what was and wasn’t around him. Wentz finished the year with 4,039 passing yards which left him in the top 10 for the season. He was only 15 passing yards behind Derek Carr, 18 passing yards behind Tom Brady, and 71 yards behind Russel Wilson. Neither of these QB’s dealt with the issues Wentz had to deal with but that’s okay. Wentz followed that performance by tossing 27 touchdowns which left him in the top 5 of the league. He was only 9 touchdowns behind Lamar Jackson who had 36 and won MVP.
Current ESPN Analyst Louis Riddick came to the defense of Wentz by recently stating,
“This is just getting stupid okay, with the way that they’re putting together this list because for Carson Wentz to not be in the Top 100 and for Josh Allen to be in there, I mean considering all the different changes that they had from week to week, from game to game, from series to series due to injury and due to the players that he had to play with…”.
Why does the world continue to sleep?
There isn’t anything that the common man can say negatively about Carson except for two things:
- He’s Suffered some unfortunate injures
- He hasn’t won a playoff game.
Both are understandable. That’s the unfortunate reality that Eagles fans will have to deal with until their franchise QB leads them to possibly a conference championship. That may be all it takes.
While the media will continue to let you know that Wentz is “injury-prone” or that Jalen Hurts was drafted as a replacement, the truth of the matter is this; The Eagles signed Wentz to a very hefty contract that isn’t reasonable to get out of via trade or release.
Wentz is slowly but surely regaining his 2017 form. For the first time in his career, Wentz actually spent an offseason focusing on his body and game instead of rehabbing and hoping he could play soon. This is uncharted territory for Wentz and the Eagles, an area where you know the excitement is building up. When you factor in a youth infusion at wide receiver and an abundance of speed, it’s easy to foresee a career-year for Wentz. A year that would still have to surpass a 4,039-yard year with 213 first downs, and a 27-7 TD/INT ratio, to earn that title.
Wentz will also have the best tight end duo in the league back and fully healthy to start the season. While the world may be trying to write off Wentz and keep him out of those ‘elite’ conversations, remember one thing: Wentz is the Quarterback of the Philadelphia Eagles and in the words of Jason Kelce, “We’re from Philly! ….No one likes us, we don’t care!”
Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
