Carson Wentz Supposedly Ahead of Sam Bradford in Learning Offense, and Starting Early Would Be No Surprise
By Jason Lisk
Sam Bradford made plenty of noise this offseason after the Eagles drafted Carson Wentz with the 2nd overall pick. He returned to offseason activities, tail between legs after a failed holdout attempt to force a trade. The general thought, though, was that he would have this season to show that he deserved to be a starter somewhere else.
According to Mike Florio, though, Carson Wentz is reportedly picking up new coach Doug Pederson’s offense faster than Bradford so far, and it is only a matter of time before Wentz starts.
The party line on Wentz–coming from FCS North Dakota State–was that he would need some time to sit and develop before getting his opportunity. Of course, that’s not largely how it is done in the NFL with early quarterback picks.
The latest reports make the Eagles’ offseason moves at quarterback seem even more haphazard, in signing Bradford, then signing Chase Daniel as a high-priced backup, and then trading away several picks to move up to 2nd overall for Wentz.
Wentz starting this year would seem like a near certainty based on history. Bradford is not a huge impediment, and has never had an above average passing season when he’s played a large amount of games.
Of the 33 quarterbacks drafted in the top 5 in the last 30 years, nearly half of them started the season opener as rookies. Here’s a summary of how long it took for the first start.
Only Carson Palmer (who waited for one year as Jon Kitna had a career year in Cincinnati and the Bengals went 8-8) and Philip Rivers (two years behind pro bowler Drew Brees) did not start a single game as rookies. Even among those who were designated to wait, they were almost always the 2nd string and got into action due to either injury or ineffectiveness of the starter.
There isn’t much of a market for Bradford at his cost, but rolling with Daniel and then getting Wentz ready to start would be a completely reasonable strategy, and Wentz might just take the starting job at the outset.