Last Saturday, the Philadelphia Eagles shocked the entire NFL world as they traded starting quarterback Sam Bradford to the Minnesota Vikings for a 2017 first-round pick and conditional 2018 fourth-round pick. With Bradford now donning the purple and gold, the spotlight is on this year’s second overall pick, quarterback Carson Wentz.
In this past year’s NFL draft, the Eagles traded a multitude of draft picks to the Cleveland Browns to move up to get their franchise quarterback out of North Dakota State. However, even though they traded up to get him, the plan was to let Wentz sit this season.
With no rush to play Wentz, the Eagles were content with playing Bradford or Chase Daniel, if Bradford got hurt. Nevertheless, the preseason came around and it changed the entire dynamic for the Eagles’ quarterbacks. Bradford was solid, Daniel played sub-par, but Wentz brought a certain level of excitement to the field.
In the Eagles’ first preseason game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Wentz got into the game with 1:19 to go in the first half. As he took his first snap from out of the shotgun, Wentz showed off his arm strength and mobility by delivering a strike to tight end Zach Ertz for a first down.
Then in the second half, Wentz showed off his mobility, once again scrambling for a first down. But with the good, comes the bad.
In the red zone, Wentz threw a pass high and was intercepted by a Buccaneers’ defender. He also suffered a hairline fracture in his ribs, ending his preseason. There was talk that he could have played in the final preseason game against the New York Jets, but the Eagles held him out.
Wentz only threw 24 passes in the preseason, which isn’t enough reps for a rookie quarterback. Nevertheless, a rookie who will be making his NFL debut. Which begs the question, what can we expect from the North Dakota State product on Sunday afternoon?
To answer that question, let me preface it by saying expect good and bad plays. At some points of the game, he will wow you, but at other moments, he will make rookie mistakes. Those rookie mistakes are expected because he has not had enough game reps.
With that being known, Eagles head coach Doug Pederson will simplify the offense for Wentz. He will not put the rookie quarterback in tough situations. Instead, Pederson will lean on the running game a lot in Sunday’s game as the Eagles have a stable of running backs. Last season, the Browns’ defense gave up 128.4 yards per game on the ground, which was good for 30th in the league.
With running backs such as Ryan Mathews, Darren Sproles, and Kenjon Barner, expect Wentz to utilize them in the receiving game.
Then when it comes to the receivers and tight ends, Wentz will be targeting both Ertz and Jordan Matthews, early and often. Both players are a young quarterback’s best friend as each player had over 100 plus targets last season.
Finally, expect to see Pederson use the read option with Wentz. Dave Spadaro of PhiladelphiaEagles.com confirmed this to ESPN Fantasy Football/NFL Analyst Mike Clay. If you remember in Kansas City, Pederson did the same thing with Alex Smith.
Both Smith and Wentz have the ability to make plays with their legs, which makes the read option difficult to cover for opposing defenses.
Sunday’s regular season opener against the Browns should be an exciting game. Don’t be surprised if Wentz throws for over 200 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. He’s not afraid to throw the ball down the field, which will help the Eagles’ offense ultimately going forward. But his gunslinger mentality will cost him in the form of turnovers.
Sunday will be the first of many tests for Wentz, who has the weight of a franchise on his shoulders.
