Last year, when NBC Sports’ Chris Simms created his list of the top 40 quarterbacks in the NFL, he had Carson Wentz at No. 3.
This year, he has Wentz at 11.
Simms said he actually made Wentz third about two weeks before Wentz tore his ACL in the 2017 season. Since then, Wentz had to rehab the ACL/LCL and then suffered a stress fracture in his back in 2018.
“Here’s the thing with Carson Wentz and why he’s No. 11,” Simms said. “It’s really availability, is the No. 1 reason he’s No. 11. The talent is top-5 talent.”
Simms, a former NFL QB, went on to say Wentz is a “more physically gifted version of Andrew Luck.”
By his incredibly high standard set in 2017, Wentz had a down season last year as he recovered and battled a new injury. But he still completed nearly 70 percent of his passes for over 3,000 yards in 11 games and had a TD-to-INT ratio of 3-1. Good, but not at his MVP-like level.
NFL
So, is Simms right to rank Wentz as the 11th best quarterback in football? To answer that question, let’s first take a look at the guys outside the top 10.
11. Carson Wentz
12. Philip Rivers
13. Dak Prescott
14. Matt Stafford
15. Kirk Cousins
16. Nick Foles
17. Baker Mayfield
18. Derek Carr
19. Jared Goff
20. Mitchell Trubisky
21. Jimmy Garoppolo
22. Sam Darnold
23. Josh Allen
24. Kyler Murray
25. Joe Flacco
26. Andy Dalton
27. Jameis Winston
28. Case Keenum
29. Marcus Mariota
30. Lamar Jackson
31. Jacoby Brissett
32. Josh Rosen
33. Ryan Tannehill
34. Eli Manning
35. Ryan Fitzpatrick
36. Robert Griffen III
37. Drew Lock
38. Dwayne Haskins
39. Colt McCoy
40. Tyrod Taylor
A little surprising to see Rivers come in at No. 12; he’s probably a top 10 guy too. And there are some other surprises along the way as well. I don’t really understand how Goff can be lower than Derek Carr.
And Goff and Prescott are both ranked lower than Wentz, but will both cash in thanks to Wentz’s new contract.
You’ll also notice that Wentz is the highest-ranked QB in the NFC East. Prescott is at 13, Eli is at 34, while Dwayne Haskins and Colt McCoy take 38 and 39, somehow behind RGIII, who hasn’t started an NFL game since 2016. Unless Simms shocks the world and puts Daniel Jones at No. 1 (that would be incredible), the Giants’ first-round pick isn’t even in the top 40.
But based on that list, we can figure out who will be in Simms’ top 10. We don’t know the exact order, but here are the 10 guys he has yet to name: Patrick Mahomes, Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, Russell Wilson, Drew Brees, Ben Roethlisberger, Cam Newton, Matt Ryan, Andrew Luck, Deshaun Watson.
You’re not going to get any argument from me on the first five names I listed. Mahomes, Rodgers, Brady, Wilson and Brees deserve to be there. We could certainly argue about Big Ben or Ryan or Watson, but if Simms’ whole argument is about health, it becomes harder.
Even Simms admitted Wentz has top-five talent and he absolutely does. I would have probably had Wentz sneak into my top 10, but if he stays healthy in 2019, there’s no question he’ll be back in the top 10 this time next year.
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