Getty Carson Wentz and the Philadelphia Eagles take on the New York Giants in a game that will determine whether or not they make the playoffs. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
Are Josh Allen and Kyler Murray better quarterbacks than Carson Wentz? It sounds crazy to say that but Wentz’s peers around the league have spoken.
NFL Network has been ranking the “NFL Top 100” for a decade as the station dramatically rolls out the list over several weeks. On Sunday night, the first 30 players were revealed and five Eagles players made the cut — none of them were named Wentz. Meanwhile, Allen registered at No. 87 and Murray at No. 90. Those were the only two quarterbacks on the list and Wentz may still make the team. Or maybe not.
According to NBC Sports Philadelphia, the Eagles were only given five total slots on the 2020 list and they were already announced in the first 30 players. They included Brandon Brooks (98), Jason Kelce (94), Darius Slay (92), Zach Ertz (85), Fletcher Cox (73) — and, yes, they are all ranked way lower than they should be.
It’ll be curious to see how many quarterbacks make the final cut. Wentz enjoyed his best statistical season since his MVP run in 2017, plus he did it while overcoming a slew of team injuries and by throwing to practice-squad players. He set a career-high in passing yards (4,039) while throwing for 27 touchdowns against seven interceptions. Personally, I don’t see more than 10 quarterbacks (probably less) better than Wentz, least of whom are Murray and Allen. It’s important to note that the “NFL Top 100” is voted on by the players themselves.
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Backups Could Play Vital Role in 2020 Season
Some teams have been toying with the idea of “quarantining” a backup quarterback in case the starter tests positive for COVID-19 during the season. Eagles head coach Doug Pederson hasn’t dismissed the option — Jalen Hurts or Nate Sudfeld? — but he’ll have to decide prior to padded practices on Aug. 17 so to limit their contact with teammates.
On Monday, Pederson did comment on the importance of having reliable backup players across the roster and on the coaching staff. There’s quite a bit of unknown as this unpredictable virus-driven season begins this week in South Philadelphia.
“One of the things that we’ve been faced with, and I think we’ve done a really good job here is we’ve overcome some of the injuries we’ve had the last couple of seasons,” Pederson told reporters. “We’ve coached that next guy, or that next player has been able to go in and perform at a high level, but now I think that has to carry over to the coaching staff as you mentioned.”
“I think there has to be a plan in place for any coach or any staff member that may miss a couple days or a couple weeks because of the virus,” Pederson continued. “So those are all things that are running through my mind. Again, we are in a different environment and we all have to do our part to protect ourselves, protect our players and our families and hopefully we minimize any setbacks.”
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