North Dakota State quarterback Carson Wentz made a case during Senior Bowl week to be considered the top quarterback of the 2016 NFL draft, and NFL.com draft analyst Mike Mayock is putting him at the same level as Andrew Luck.
The 6’5″, 232-pound Wentz didn’t compete at the same level as Luck in college, but he’s coming from the top of the FCS mountain. He led the Bison to their fourth straight FCS championship in 2014, his first year as a starter. He threw for 3,111 yards and 25 touchdowns. In 2015, Wentz missed two months with a broken right wrist but came back to lead NDSU to their fifth straight title.
Carson Wentz at center of combine. Here are the 4 non-FBS QBs drafted in Round 1 since 1979 https://t.co/rW8Ticrb1m pic.twitter.com/Yqr0WUAEiv
— Kevin Seifert (@SeifertESPN) February 24, 2016
Mayock said that Wentz is bigger and more athletic than Luck with similar arm strength.
Barring a trade, it’s virtually guaranteed that Wentz won’t be drafted No. 1 overall like Luck because the Titans have their quarterback of the future in Marcus Mariota, but he could go to the Browns at No. 2.
Mayock did caution that Wentz might not have the kind of instant success that Luck did. Wentz started just one game against an FBS opponent. Luck, on the other hand, came from Stanford and led the Colts to 11-5 records in his first three seasons, making for a seamless transition from the Peyton Manning Era. That kind of quarterback torch-passing happens once in a generation.
At least if Wentz goes to Cleveland there will be no legend to follow.