An hour after the Eagles pulled off a trade to move up to the No. 2 pick in next week’s draft, vice president of football operations and fine cuisine connoisseur Howie Roseman compared Jared Goff and Carson Wentz to chocolate and vanilla ice cream.
“I like vanilla and chocolate,” Roseman said Wednesday afternoon.
He’d better.
Because whomever the Rams don’t choose with the first overall pick next Thursday night will be the quarterback the Eagles build their franchise around.
Goff or Wentz. Wentz or Goff.
Roseman, who is back in control of the team as the de facto general manager, claimed Wednesday he doesn’t know which of the quarterbacks the Rams will take at No. 1. Then he said he’s confident the Eagles will get the player they covet.
How can both things be true?
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“You’re going to have to connect the dots,” Roseman said.
So here it goes. The dots are these: The early report from ESPN out of Los Angeles is the Rams are leading toward taking Goff out of Cal. If the draft goes that way, that would leave North Dakota State’s Wentz waiting at No. 2. And the Eagles likely wouldn’t have a problem with that.
The Eagles have researched Wentz thoroughly during this pre-draft process. They met with him at the Senior Bowl. They met with him again at the combine. They visited him in North Dakota. They brought him into Philadelphia for an official visit to the NovaCare Complex.
And they liked what they learned about him.
“I like [Wentz],” head coach Doug Pederson said earlier this week. “He’s got everything you want in a quarterback at this level. You never know. Quarterback is a unique position at the National Football League level. Guys come in here and there’s an expectation level that they have, there’s an expectation level that we have as a coaching staff. I like him, I like his arm strength, his mobility, he’s a bigger kid. I think he’s got all the tools to be an NFL quarterback.”
Ultimately, it’s not up to the Eagles, though. As odd as it may sound, the Rams will decide who the Eagles’ next quarterback will be.
Roseman, on Wednesday, claimed the team will be happy with whomever they pick, whether it be Goff or Wentz. If they weren’t, they would have waited until draft day to make the move.
“Yeah, that’s the only way you can make this trade,” Roseman said. “You have to be really comfortable with both of those guys.”
Of the two, Goff was certainly the more productive college player. He starred at California and consistently got better during his three years in the Pac-12, which culminated in a career season in 2015. Last year, he completed 64.5 percent of his passes for 4,714 yards, 43 touchdowns and just 13 interceptions.
Wentz is probably more of a wild card, but many consider him to be more athletic and have more upside. Wentz played his college ball for the North Dakota State Bison, who play in the FCS. That makes him a gamble because he didn’t see the level of competition in college that Goff did.
“It's hard to be great if you don't take some risks,” Roseman said.
While the Eagles made the move to get the No. 2 pick Wednesday, Roseman publicly declared that Sam Bradford is the starter and said he’s not for sale (see story).
But it looks like his successor is coming. And it’s either Goff or Wentz. Wentz or Goff.
“They're not the same guy, they're different, they're unique in so many ways,” Roseman said, “and at the same time they both have some really great traits and that gives them a chance.”
They’re chocolate and vanilla.
Now we just have to see if they can play on Sundae.