Eagles QB Omitted on Top 100 NFL Players, Cowboys Earn 7 Spots

Carson Wentz Dak Prescott

Getty Philadelphia Eagles QB Carson Wentz and Dallas Cowboys QB Dak Prescott

Are there really 10 quarterbacks in the NFL better than Carson Wentz? Yes, according to one national pundit.

Pete Prisco of CBS Sports published his annual list of the Top 100 NFL Players of 2020 and threw a little shade at Wentz, perhaps on purpose. He prefaced the list with reasoning on his picks and then added: “So eat this list up. I know you will.” The reaction from most Eagles fans was more laughter than outrage. Especially when you consider a few of the names that Prisco placed above Wentz.

Sure, everyone can agree that Patrick Mahomes, Russell Wilson, Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees, Tom Brady deserve top billing — and arguably Lamar Jackson, depending on what he does for an encore in 2020. The other names? Laughable. He picked Dak Prescott, Kirk Cousins, Deshaun Watson and Matt Ryan over Wentz. Let’s examine the list a little deeper since the Eagles were pretty well-represented at the other positions.

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Cowboys Outnumber Eagles on NFL Top 100 List

The most important question was, did the Eagles receive more love than the Cowboys? No, they did not.

Dallas finished with seven players on the list: Ezekiel Elliott (17), Dak Prescott (46), Zack Martin (50), DeMarcus Lawrence (58), La’el Collins (77), Tyron Smith (80), Amari Cooper (81). Meanwhile, the Eagles racked up six selections on the list: Lane Johnson (30), Fletcher Cox (54), Brandon Brooks (55), Zach Ertz (68), Jason Kelce (76), Darius Slay (96).

Here is what Prisco wrote about Slay, the Eagles’ newest impact player:

He wasn’t as good as his reputation for the Lions last season, but he still has the talent to be a top-tier corner. That’s why the Eagles made the move to get him.

No Carson Wentz. No Miles Sanders. No Brandon Graham. Johnson was the highest-ranked Eagle, while Elliott was the top Cowboy. The only other player chosen from the NFC East was Giants running back Saquon Barkley (35). That means no Redskins were harmed in the making of this list.


Wentz Not One of NFL’s Best Deep Passers, Either

Meanwhile, NFL.com’s Nick Shook put together an intriguing list of the Top 10 Deep Passers in the league. Wentz was omitted from that list, too.

The metrics used to calculate the quarterbacks mentioned was “completion percentage above expectation.” This is determined as such:

The difference between a quarterback’s actual completion percentage and expected completion percentage. A positive difference indicates performance above expectation, while a negative difference indicates performance below expectation. We added a wrinkle to narrow the window down to deep passes, eliminating all attempts below 20 air yards.

Dak Prescott topped the list at +13.4 percentage points, followed closely by Russell Wilson at +12.8 percentage points. The rest of the list included (in order): Patrick Mahomes (+9.0), Tom Brady (+7.5), Kyler Murray (+6.6), Deshaun Watson (+6.6), Kirk Cousins (+6.4), Ryan Fitzpatrick (+5.4), Matt Ryan (+5.3), Baker Mayfield (+3.9).

Wentz didn’t make the cut on that list but he did qualify for one compiled by Pro Football Focus. The stats-driven website ranked all 32 NFL quarterbacks on their deep passes and Wentz came in at No. 10. Where was Prescott? He was fourth. Here is what PPF wrote about Wentz:

10. CARSON WENTZ, PHILADELPHIA EAGLES
35.1% completion percentage, 10.7 yards per attempt, 79.4 Passer Rating
Heading into the 2019 season, we thought Carson Wentz might have the best receiving corps in the league to throw to. By the end of it, they were all hurt and he was tossing passes to a former college quarterback and AAF star in Greg Ward. DeSean Jackson being missing especially crippled Wentz’s ability to win deep down the field regularly, and though his passing itself was solid, the production the offense had on these attempts was lackluster at best.

Wentz’s numbers should increase dramatically in 2020 with all his new weapons on offense. For now, let the debate rage on.

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