Philadelphia Eagles: 5 signs Carson Wentz can be their new franchise QB
By John Buhler
4. He’s staying in the pocket
Wentz has the build of an Andrew Luck or a Blake Bortles. This means he can make plays with his legs, but realizes that he’ll be at his best making plays from the pocket. In two NFL starts, Wentz has only ran the football eight times for 11 yards.
Committing to being a pocket passer this early in his career is the best thing Wentz can do for his NFL longevity. While physically he is the prototype of what NFL general managers want at the quarterback position, the best asset he can have going forward is his health. Wentz will stay healthy if he stays in the pocket.
There were definitely a few plays on Monday night where Wentz could have panicked in a collapsing Eagles pocket but didn’t. He was willing to make throws under duress against a better than average Bears pass rush.
Yes, neither Cleveland or Chicago are playoff-caliber teams in 2016, but the way that Wentz went about handling their defenses shows a solid foundation that will help him in the long run. He is fortunate that the NFC East isn’t elite defensively.
The New York Giants look improved on that end, but Philadelphia might have the best defense in the NFC East under new defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz. Durability isn’t sexy, but Wentz is playing more like Eli Manning than Robert Griffin III in his early career as the Eagles starting quarterback.
Wentz is ahead of the curve in terms of pocket presence for an NFL rookie. We haven’t seen rookie signal callers embrace the pocket like Wentz has since Joe Flacco and Matt Ryan’s rookie years in 2008.