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Carson Wentz knows a thing or two about dynasties as he joins the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs.
Wentz won a national title all five years of his college career with North Dakota State at the FCS level from 2011 to 2015. He followed that up with helping the Philadelphia Eagles become a Super Bowl contender in 2017 before his NFL career went south.
Now, the Chiefs look for him as a complementary backup to Patrick Mahomes, and analysts such as Sam McDowell of The Kansas City Star sees promise in Wentz making a difference. McDowell called Wentz an “ideal backup for Mahomes” because the Chiefs could use the former Bison a great in a needed role — quarterback sneak.
“The play Mahomes won’t run — or the play coach Andy Reid won’t let him run, I should say. He certainly has his reasons. Mahomes dislocated his kneecap on a quarterback sneak attempt in Denver in 2019, missing two games. Reid deleted the play from his sheet afterward,” McDowell wrote.
Wentz, 6-foot-6, 235-pounds, took his physical game at NDSU to the NFL quite successfully though it led to an ACL tear in 2017. His quarterback sneak became a successful part of that transition, and the Chiefs could bring him off the bench to do that.
Kansas City seeks an NFL-record third-straight Super Bowl next season and the franchise’s four Lombardi Trophy in six years.
Carson Wentz’s QB Sneak by the Numbers
McDowell broke down those numbers in the quarterback’s otherwise turbulent eight-year career. Wentz has completed 88.7% of his quarterback sneaks, 47-53, according to McDowell via Sports Info Solutions.
The last time Wentz executed the play often in 2021, he went 9-10 with the Indianapolis Colts, McDowell reported. He previously went 13-15 in 2019, 3-4 in 2018, 10-10 in 2017, and 2-2 in 2016 — all with the Philadelphia Eagles, McDowell wrote.
“It’s not as though the Chiefs don’t realize the value of the quarterback sneak. They’ve tried to run it after the Mahomes freak injury — with tight ends. That’s how badly they wanted to call them,” McDowell wrote.
Carson Wentz a Winner Before Turbulent Past 4 Years
Philadelphia’s rebuild with Wentz paid off in the early years before injuries and the drafting of Jalen Hurts led to a trade with the Colts in 2021. Wentz came short of the playoffs, and the Colts traded him to the Washington Commanders in 2022.
Things didn’t work out in Washington for Wentz as he spent most of 2023 as a free agent. He then signed with the Los Angeles Rams late in the season — ironically the other team besides the Eagles that considered taking him out of NDSU with a top-two pick in 2016.
Wentz came from a program that has done nothing but win since 2011 — nine national titles. His college career started under former Bison head coach Craig Bohl, who later developed Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen at Wyoming.
After four-year starter Brock Jensen graduated and Bohl left, Wentz took over as the starter in 2014 in the middle of the five-peat and kept the Bison rolling. Wentz played under former head coach Chris Klieman, now with Kansas State, during that two-year run.
While Wentz’s prowess didn’t last in the NFL, he’s still a passing and running threat, which he showed in one start with the Rams last season. Wentz went 17-24 for 163 yards two touchdowns versus one interception, and he ran for 56 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries.
In addition, Wentz led the Rams to a 21-20 win over the San Francisco 49ers — albeit a game where backups played.
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