A name that turned a lot of heads at the Senior Bowl was that of North Dakota State quarterback Carson Wentz and though he performed well enough during drills that he could very well be a first-round pick in the spring, some NFL executives aren’t so sure.
According to NFL.com, the word around the offices of select NFL teams is that Wentz is both “overrated” and that there is “no way” that they would use a first-round pick to draft him.
That’s all well and good and executives are entitled to their opinions, but it also seems a bit unfair that such an opinion could be had of Wentz before he’s really had a chance to show scouts what he can do despite starring in individual drills in Mobile. He only played one quarter of the actual Senior Bowl, hardly a sufficient sample size, and the NFL Scouting Combine hasn’t even taken place yet. When it comes to how well he can fare in the NFL, that’s definitely jumping the gun just a bit.
But then there’s also the fact that Wentz did indeed play at North Dakota State, an FCS school whose competition is a far cry from FBS, home to the SEC and other Power 5 conferences. Granted, it’s foolish to assume that Wentz will overcome the odds and be a great NFL quarterback, but keep in mind that the league today only has three starting quarterbacks who attended FCS schools: Joe Flacco (Delaware), Tony Romo (Eastern Illinois) and Ryan Fitzpatrick (Harvard). It should also be noted that only Flacco was a first-round pick.
That all being said, should teams shy away from drafting the supposedly overrated Wentz in the first round? It’s simply too early to tell and to have an opinion on the matter before he performs at the combine is unfair.
However, given the great difference that exists between FBS and FCS, it’s perfectly fine to question just how well Wentz would potentially handle the adjustment to the pros.
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*Featured Photo (above) credit to USA TODAY Sports