3 Reasons To Hop On The Carson Wentz Bandwagon

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- I'll be the first to admit, I'm not a huge fan of NFL Draft talk.

It's like groundhog day: fans and media members -- even NFL scouts and executives, for that matter -- scan the talent pool and decide who they like and who they do not like. Quarterback is the most controversial and polarizing position, naturally, because it's the most significant.

And more times than not we are wrong, NFL personnel included (see: Brady, Tom; Rodgers, Aaron; Romo, Tony; Wilson, Russell; etc.). However, it sure does make for some fun conversation.

Every offseason I tend to hitch my wagon to a certain player(s). And since I'm already on record on saying the Eagles should move on from Sam Bradford, I'm hitching my proverbial 2016 draft wagon to North Dakota State's Carson Wentz. 

Here are three reasons why.

3. Measurables

 

6-5, 230 pounds, with a 32 3/8" arm length. 

That's in the range of Ben Roethlisberger and Cam Newton, for comparisons sake. Like Big Ben, Wentz was small as a freshman in high school and was under-recruited.

2. Mobility

 

In today's NFL, we see the magnitude of having a mobile quarterback. From Alex Smith and Colin Kaepernick -- who were able to maximize their talent to win playoff games -- to Super Bowl winning quarterbacks like the aforementioned Roethlisberger, Aaron Rodgers, and Russell Wilson to future championship winning QB's in Andrew Luck and Cam Newton.

Having a signal caller who can crush defenses with his arm and legs only makes him more difficult to contain. Here's part of Wentz's NFL.com draft profile:

"Has athleticism to escape pressure and hurt defenses with his legs. Already able to feel pressure on the edges and slide around in pocket without dropping his eyes."

1. He played in the FCS

 

Carson Wentz Inside the Tape by QB Film Room on YouTube

Why would I like that about him? Two reasons.

No. 1, it's his only real weakness. Look at his "weaknesses" listed on his draft profile:

"Has to put a little extra air on his field-­side throws. Can be a little flat with his downfield, touch throws. Has to eliminate the occasional nonchalant throw into tight quarters."

We keep seeing a "little" or "occasional" --- but nothing substantial or consistently weak.

No. 2, he has a chip on his shoulder. Most great quarterback's have chip's on their shoulders because they were passed on for whatever reason. Drew Brees was too small. So was Russell Wilson. Tom Brady was a sixth round draft pick. Philip Rivers had a weird delivery. And so on and so forth.

Here's NFL analyst Mike Mayock on Wentz:

"This is a franchise quarterback, and if he was in a Power Five conference, he's a top-10 pick," Mayock said of Wentz. "And I didn't know a thing about the kid [previously], I just couldn't wait to see him at the Senior Bowl. At the biggest and best of the college all-star games where he's lining up helmets with Alabama and LSU and all those other guys, he was the best quarterback there. He's going to go to the combine and run fast and jump high, and do all those athletic things, and he'€™s going to knock people dead in the interview room."

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