Pro Football Focus Says Carson Wentz Is the Best Rookie Quarterback since at Least 2006
Carson Wentz is off the charts. From Pro Football Focus:
Through three weeks of the 2016 NFL season, Philadelphia Eagles’ No. 2 overall pick Carson Wentz isn’t just the highest-graded rookie QB in the league, but he’s the best-rated QB period, with a PFF grade of 90.2 on our 0-100 scale.
That is the best grade we have ever recorded for a rookie quarterback, dating back to the start of our grading system in 2006.
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Over the first two weeks Wentz had an average depth of target of 8.8, but that dropped by more than three and a half yards to 5.1 this week. Screens accounted for 34 percent of his pass attempts, compared to just 16 percent in the first two weeks of the season.
Those manufactured yards flattered Wentz a little this week, allowing him to rack up big stats without making big-time throws, like he did on this big gain to running back Darren Sproles.
It’s not a knock on Wentz, and he does nothing wrong on this play – selling the fake well and delivering an accurate pass to Sproles – but this is a pass you expect every NFL QB to make 100 percent of the time, and it turns into a huge play for the offense.
The reason why that’s a positive sign, however, is that the Eagles coaches are clearly in tune with how best to help out their rookie QB, and he has shown through the first two weeks of the season that he is very capable of helping the team out himself. That kind of in-tune partnership can only mean good things for this team in the future.
A lot of credit goes to Doug Pederson and Frank Reich. I thought they were a bit heavy on the screens yesterday and played it too safe at times – specifically with Josh Huff – but they’ve put Wentz in a position to succeed in all three games utilizing different sets and looks, without being passive or turning him into a game manager. HIGHLY impressive.