Carson Wentz Is Dark Horse To Be 1st QB Drafted
By Erik Lambert
It wouldn’t be the first time that a small school quarterback went high in the draft. Joe Flacco came out of Delaware in 2008 and the Baltimore Ravens took him in the 1st round. Phil Simms came out of Morehead State in 1979 and Ken O’Brien emerged from California-Davis in 1983. If a kid has top tier talent and the tape shows that, it only takes one teams to fall in love and chances are that player is going early.
Such is the buzz building around North Dakota State quarterback Carson Wentz. He just completed his second-straight national championship victory as a starter, extending his schools’ streak to five-straight. There is no doubt he is the best player on the best team in Division II college football. At 6’6″ he’s got plenty of size, can run not just to avoid pressure but to pick up 1st downs and shows a compact, fluid throwing motion with plenty of heat on his passes.
Some scouts are so infatuated with him, in fact that they feel he won’t only crack the 1st round of the 2016 NFL draft, he might end up being the first quarterback off the board.
Carson Wentz played an unbelievably good game today in the FCS title game. He really helped himself w/ his performance.
— Gil Brandt (@Gil_Brandt) January 9, 2016
I'm saying he's in the conversation to be the 1st qb taken...if he checks all the intangible boxes- watch out ! https://t.co/X48iTx5HgV
— Mike Mayock (@MikeMayock) January 9, 2016
DJ- he's totally legit... In the conversation with goff, lynch and cook...arm talent, accuracy , size and athletic https://t.co/ZFcwi3gV4p
— Mike Mayock (@MikeMayock) January 9, 2016
It all comes down to whether he does well in the combine and interview process leading up to the draft and whether teams can get past the fact he’s coming from a smaller program that dominated inferior competition. Like it or not, there’s no way around that risk but he wouldn’t be the first gem discovered from such humble origins.