Heading into the 2016 NFL Combine, there is no consensus projection for North Dakota State quarterback Carson Wentz. NFL Network draft analyst Mike Mayock has a bold one, though.
Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain-Dealer notes Mayock believes Wentz could develop into a quarterback as good as Indianapolis Colts star Andrew Luck.
“When I look at him, I see a kid that’s as athletic or more athletic than Andrew Luck. He’s bigger than Andrew Luck. He’s got arm strength comparable to Andrew Luck. He just doesn’t have the experience that Andrew Luck had at a high level that Andrew had coming out of college. So I see a ceiling for this kid similar to Andrew Luck. That’s why I believe in this kid so much. But it’s going to take a little bit of time.”
Wentz is a fascinating case because he could be drafted first overall if a franchise believes in him that much and is convinced the Cleveland Browns will select him at No. 2.
Otherwise, the two-time national champion at the Football Bowl Subdivision level could fall to the San Francisco 49ers at the seventh pick. The Philadelphia Eagles (13), Los Angeles Rams (15) and Houston Texans (22) will likely target a quarterback at some point as well.
But like Mayock pointed out, Wentz isn’t a ready-made starter like Luck was in 2012. Whichever team drafts Wentz would be wise to have a stop-gap starter for 2016 and perhaps even 2017.
That’s not a popular choice for the win-now fan bases of the NFL, but allowing Wentz to develop as a backup is the smart decision. Sometimes, a first-round choice simply isn’t ready to play immediately — and that’s OK.
Although Wentz has a long way to go before being anything close to Luck, quarterback prospects certainly aren’t compared to the Colts standout like small white receivers are to Wes Welker.
Wentz could be a special player. On the other hand, he might never reach that perceived ceiling and eventually be labeled a first-round bust. Or, we simply had larger expectations than he was ever capable of attaining.