Ever since he was drafted with the second overall pic, his status has never been questioned. Carson Wentz has always been 'the guy'. The franchise quarterback, the prince who was promised. The road to becoming the starting quarterback took some very wild turns and involved an immediate shortcut, but the destination was always going to be the same. What did change however, was the company surrounding Wentz.
Drafted into the NFL behind Sam Bradford, who at the time, coming off of a relatively strong end to 2015, would've been the perfect bridge until Wentz was ready to take the reins. That was the aim, to have a veteran help develop Wentz...but as we all know, things changed, fast.
Wentz found himself starting in week one and the rest, as they say, was history. Behind Wentz though, helping him throughout was Chase Daniel. Doug Pederson had experience with Daniel from his time in Kansas City, so the familiarity, chemistry and understanding was worth its weight in gold to a rookie head Coach coach who was trying to expedite the growth of Carson Wentz.
$21M seemed like an awful lot for a backup, but even Alex Smith, who by this point was entrenched as the guy in Kansas City before the Pat Mahomes era, understood the reasons why.
“For me, it’s nice to have the perspective of another guy, a guy that’s played quarterback and knows what it’s like,” Smith said.“It’s crucial sometimes to have that, and I really did have it with Chase the last few years. He’s a guy whose opinion I really trusted and think a lot of.”“I think a lot of times people kind of make the assumption — especially with a veteran starter — that it’s a one-direction relationship where the starter’s the guy that has all this wisdom and goes out and plays, and he’s helping out the younger guys, and helping develop them,” Smith said. “And, certainly, that is half of it.“But I do think it’s very, very important that that comes back, that your backup is watching film with you. Because as soon as I’m stepping off the field here, you know, I’m asking, ‘Hey, what did you guys see on this, what did you guys see on that?’ I’m constantly bouncing things off of those guys, and it can’t always be coaches (helping me).”- Alex Smith on Chase Daniel's impact. https://www.kansascity.com/sports/nfl/kansas-city-chiefs/article81633047.html
The Eagles had signed Daniel to a three-year, $21M deal in order to help the growth of their shining new hope. One year later, Daniel departed in the belief that he could become a starter (that didn't happen) and in his place stepped Nick Foles. Again, another quarterback who Doug Pederson was familiar with. In fact, Pederson was hammering the table for the Eagles to draft Foles way back when he was the team's quarterback's coach in 2012.
Of course, this road took several twists and turns that nobody could've foreseen and without diving into the incredible Super Bowl run or the value that Foles brought to the offense when on the field, because that fairytale level of excellence is a can of worms that has been and will be opened in different articles. But off the field, Foles was again, instrumental in helping Carson Wentz grow. Especially following the Super Bowl win and a torn ACL, a unique circumstance where Wentz was almost forced to take a back seat and find new ways to help the team.
"The relationship in that quarterback room I think is excellent in terms of the support that they all give each other and that's [QB] Carson, to [QB] Nate, or Nate and Nick for Carson, that room, they do a great job of helping each other, talking through game plans, talking through issues. They are up in their room all the time throughout the course of the week and then certainly on the sidelines supporting each other and cheering each other on."Eagles offensive coordinator Mike Groh on the QB room chemistry in 2018.
But now, there is no Nick Foles, there is no Chase Daniel, there is no Sam Bradford. Entering his fourth season, Wentz is the oldest in the room. Sure, Kessler is only a few months younger, but in terms of experience as a starter, he's now the clear leader.
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Wentz has long-been praised for being mature beyond his years, but after a debatably slanderous article where he was labeled as selfish amongst various other criticisms, this offseason carries even more weight. There's no veteran QB2 to carry the clipboard. There's no older presence to lead the developmental quarterbacks on the depth chart. That responsibility now lands with Wentz, as it should. But it's fell on his shoulders at such a crucial time.
Not only is Wentz now the cemented heart and soul of the team, but the Eagles have retained Nate Sudfeld, their presumed QB2 (barring an upset), who has appeared in 3 regular season games, two of which being week 17 contests. Sudfeld has been around the team and coaching staff long enough to have earned the role as Wentz's backup, and his presence poses no immediate threat, unlike the effect Foles may have inadvertently had. But if Wentz were to go down in week 13, could Sudfeld be relied on to carry the team home? That is one of the offseason's biggest questions...and it's one where the answer involves Wentz being a leader to prepare Nate for that moment, should it ever arise.
The team also drafted Northwestern's Clayton Thorson in the fifth-round. He has the size and athletic traits that Pederson covets in his quarterbacks at 6’4, 222 lbs, but he doesn’t yet have the accuracy. He averaged 6.8 yards per pass and has thrown 27 picks in his last 27 games. But the Eagles are willing to look past that to nurture a natural talent.
"My first opportunity to see him was at the Combine this year and had a chance to sit down with him and talk with him. He came off, was very impressive, No. 1, Northwestern kid. What I like about him, obviously, three out of the last four years, he's taken his team to a Bowl and he's won those games and he's got all the passing records there at Northwestern.This kid's tough and he fits exactly what we look for in a quarterback. Arm strength, decision-making, the ability to extend plays and he's going to fit really well with that room and with [QB] Carson and [QB] Nate. It's going to be a really fun spring and summer and leading up into training camp, to see all those guys really how they come together in that room and gel and it's a good opportunity for him."- Doug Pederson on Clayton Thorson
Thorson's raw skillset may have provoked the Eagles to sign Cody Kessler. A former third-round pick of the Cleveland Browns, Kessler has played in 17 games in his three-year career, starting 12 (winning 2 games). Completing 64% of his passes, passing for 8 touchdowns and 5 picks, Kessler has become somewhat of a game manager, which is what maybe led him to Jacksonville to begin with. But while his presence will undoubtedly take some of the load from the shoulders of Carson Wentz, Kessler will ultimately be trying to unseat Nate Sudfeld, however unrealistic that may seem...as if he is unable to steal the spotlight from a backup QB, his career ceiling drops massively.
What's also worth noting is that the Eagles of course lost John DeFilippo after 2017. The quarterback coach who worked wonders and was always seen as a future offensive coordinator was replaced by Press Taylor, who appears to have continued on the strong train of development left in 'Flip's' wake, but now without a veteran onside to help carry that culture, again, it all falls onto the shoulders of Wentz.
If there was ever a time for Carson Wentz to prove the critics wrong, and I'm not talking those who doubt his play, it's now. The character deformation, the humble response, it all points toward this offseason. One where Wentz is the unquestioned leader and will be expected to not only return to his rightful place as the starting quarterback, but help develop those beneath him as he once did at North Dakota State.
It's the first time Wentz has been in this situation since he played for the Bison, and now the stakes are that much higher. If there is any weight to the concerns of his maturation and selfishness, it's now that the NDSU product has to rise up and take that next step. With a large contract reportedly looming and his leadership never questioned, it's no longer just the fate of Carson Wentz that falls onto his shoulders, it's the fate of the entire quarterback position.
