Is Carson Wentz an elite quarterback? Can he be counted on to put up top-5 type passing numbers in the next few seasons?
Wentz looked like that kind of quarterback back in 2017, when he was on his way to an MVP award before shredding his ACL against the Rams. Wentz threw 33 TDs in 13 games that season.
But since returning, Wentz has been more average than awesome. (And here, I’m speaking in fantasy terms, with an “average” quarterback being a guy who’s not putting up top-10 numbers or bottom-10 numbers, but is in the middle of the pack.)
Since his knee injury, Wentz has gone 14-14 as a starter. That’s including the playoff loss where he was knocked out early. In his last 27 regular-season starts, he’s averaged 263 passing yards, with 48 touchdowns – an average of 28.4 per 16 games. He’s thrown only 14 interceptions, but he’s fumbled 25 times, losing 16. He fumbled a league-high 16 times last year (4 more than Jameis Winston).
Some will argue that Wentz last year was undermined by injuries. Alshon Jeffery missed six games, and they didn’t get much out of DeSean Jackson. Jackson caught 2 TD bombs in the opener, then was hurt for essentially the rest of the season. But every team has at least some injuries, and Wentz had plenty of other pass-catching options, including good pass-catching running backs and arguably the league’s best pair of pass-catching tight ends.
My hunch is that Wentz misses Frank Reich. I think Reich probably played a big role in the team’s success in 2017. Since Reich left, Philadelphia’s passing game hasn’t been quite the same, while the Colts have gotten a lot better at putting the ball in the end zone.
It’s early. Let’s see what transpires in the offseason. But I’m not promising Wentz will be one of the top 10 quarterbacks on my board at this point.
| CARSON WENTZ SINCE KNEE INJURY | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Opp | Result | Cmp | Att | Yds | TD | Int |
| 2018 | Ind. | W 20-16 | 25 | 37 | 255 | 1 | 1 |
| 2018 | at Ten. | L 23-26 | 33 | 50 | 348 | 2 | 0 |
| 2018 | Min. | L 21-23 | 24 | 35 | 311 | 2 | 0 |
| 2018 | at NYG | W 34-13 | 26 | 36 | 278 | 3 | 0 |
| 2018 | Car. | L 17-21 | 30 | 37 | 310 | 2 | 0 |
| 2018 | at Jac. | W 24-18 | 21 | 30 | 286 | 3 | 1 |
| 2018 | Dall. | L 20-27 | 32 | 44 | 360 | 2 | 1 |
| 2018 | at N.O. | L 7-48 | 19 | 33 | 156 | 0 | 3 |
| 2018 | NYG | W 25-22 | 20 | 28 | 236 | 1 | 0 |
| 2018 | Was. | W 28-13 | 27 | 39 | 306 | 2 | 1 |
| 2018 | at Dall. | L 23-29 | 22 | 32 | 228 | 3 | 0 |
| 2019 | Was. | W 32-27 | 28 | 39 | 313 | 3 | 0 |
| 2019 | at Atl. | L 20-24 | 25 | 43 | 231 | 1 | 2 |
| 2019 | Det. | L 24-27 | 19 | 36 | 259 | 2 | 0 |
| 2019 | at G.B. | W 34-27 | 16 | 27 | 160 | 3 | 0 |
| 2019 | NYJ | W 31-6 | 17 | 29 | 189 | 1 | 0 |
| 2019 | at Min. | L 20-38 | 26 | 40 | 306 | 2 | 1 |
| 2019 | at Dall. | L 10-37 | 16 | 26 | 191 | 1 | 1 |
| 2019 | at Buff. | W 31-13 | 17 | 24 | 172 | 1 | 0 |
| 2019 | Chi. | W 22-14 | 26 | 39 | 239 | 1 | 0 |
| 2019 | N.E. | L 10-17 | 20 | 40 | 214 | 1 | 0 |
| 2019 | Sea. | L 9-17 | 33 | 45 | 256 | 1 | 2 |
| 2019 | at Mia. | L 31-37 | 28 | 46 | 310 | 3 | 1 |
| 2019 | NYG | W 23-17 | 33 | 50 | 325 | 2 | 0 |
| 2019 | at Was. | W 37-27 | 30 | 43 | 266 | 3 | 0 |
| 2019 | Dall. | W 17-9 | 31 | 40 | 319 | 1 | 0 |
| 2019 | at NYG | W 34-17 | 23 | 40 | 289 | 1 | 0 |
| 2019 | Sea. | L 9-17 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
—Ian Allan