WR prospects at NFL combine rave about working with Carson Wentz

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INDIANAPOLIS -- The day after he was spotted wearing a Carson Wentz "AO1" shirt during Senior Bowl week in January, wide receiver prospect Cooper Kupp said he was hoping he'd get a chance to meet and work out with the Eagles' quarterback. 

That chance came last month in California.

"It was awesome," the Eastern Washington wideout said during his media availability at the combine on Friday. "Any time you can spend time with a quarterback, a guy that's been through this thing. To play a year like he has and found some success. And he'll be the first one to tell you, they have a long way to go and he's excited about tackling that. It's very clear in his attitude and his mentality right now in the offseason. 

"Just to be around him, pick his brain and be a sponge was pretty special."

Rep1 Sports, which represents Kupp and Wentz, tweeted out a photo of the two of them and Cal receiver Chad Hansen on Feb. 17. While in California, Wentz also had a chance to work out with USC receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster and North Carolina receiver Mack Hollins. 

There was a theory floated that the Eagles wanted Wentz to work out with several receivers they're interested in. BleedingGreenNation has a pretty good breakdown of that here.

It's pretty unclear if that's actually the case, but Eagles vice president of football operations Howie Roseman did say on 94WIP that he wished there was a way to bring in receiver prospects so Wentz could work with them. This might be the next-best thing. 

The Eagles aren't allowed to talk football with Wentz until April 17, which is 10 days before the draft begins. By then, the draft board will either be completely set or just about, but they can still ask for his input. The Eagles and Wentz already met at the end of the season to discuss personnel and a plan going forward. 

But even if Wentz's working out with prospects isn't an elaborate and well-executed plan to gather intel, the workout sessions seemed to have a pretty positive effect on the prospects -- one for which they're really grateful. 

"It was a great experience, man," Smith-Schuster said. "For a quarterback like that, first round, great experience. Talked a lot of good football. I learned a lot from him not only on the field, but off of it. What to expect here."

Smith-Schuster would be excited about a possible reunion with his college teammate, Nelson Agholor, in Philly. 

"I could see myself [in Philly]," said Smith-Schuster, who had a formal interview scheduled with the Eagles for Friday night. "Carson Wentz, Nelson Agholor, former teammate, and me too."

Among the four prospects -- that we know of -- that worked out with Wentz, Kupp and Smith-Schuster are the better prospects. According to CBS Sports, both are projected to come off the board in the second- or third-round range. (While Smith-Schuster was planning on meeting with the Eagles, Kupp hadn't met with Philly as of Friday afternoon.) Meanwhile, Hansen has a chance to be a third-rounder, while Hollins will be either a late-round pick or go undrafted. 

"He's a great guy so he was really trying to help us out any way that he could," Hansen said. "It was really great experience to work with Carson."

None of the four prospects Wentz has worked out with are the absolute cream of the draft crop, but they've already found some chemistry with Wentz. 

And they certainly think an awful lot of the Eagles' quarterback. 

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