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Last year, it was Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota, two rookie quarterbacks thrown immediately into the starting position, who were constantly being compared. With the first two picks in this years draft both being quarterbacks, the narrative from last year has returned. However, while Mariota and Winston were both pretty good quarterbacks, Jared Goff and Carson Wentz are mediocre in comparison. Regardless, it’s never too early to predict who will end up successful and who will not.
With the first overall pick, the Los Angeles Rams selected Jared Goff out of California. Goff’s record at California was 14-23, giving him the honor of being the first overall pick with the worst college record. Goff threw a career-high 13 interceptions in the 2015 season, was sacked over 83 times and fumbled 24 times in the three years he played. In addition to ball security problems, Goff was known for rushing his throws instead of thinking clearly, something that is essential for being a starter in the NFL. While it might not make that big of a difference, Goff doesn’t have a quarterback to watch or get advice from like Wentz should.
One of the biggest benefits that Goff has is the number of weapons he has. He’ll have a healthy Todd Gurley, an easy option to hand the ball off to with Goff’s throwing issues along with wide receiver Tavon Austin. Another benefit that Goff has that Wentz severely lacks is a good defense. The Rams have one of the top defensive lines in the entire NFL, taking some of the pressure off of him. If the defense is able to hold the other offense off, Goff will have more time to be able to prep and figure out a strategy.
Now, let’s move to the east coast with the Philadelphia Eagles and Carson Wentz. Wentz was selected second overall in a trade with the Cleveland Browns. Wentz is dealing with the same situation that Mariota dealt with last year. Wentz is now in a quarterback competition with Sam Bradford and Chase Daniels which even led to Bradford wanting a trade. The team and Bradford worked through their issues, but there is clearly still some hurt feelings. If Wentz wanted some guidance from Bradford, it seems pointless to ask.
During his last season at North Dakota, Wentz only played in seven games which could be worrisome. He threw 17 touchdowns to only four interceptions, but he also held his lowest completion percentage of his career. He wasn’t very mobile, only losing yards when he attempted to run the ball. Wentz also has a habit of looking at his target which gives secondary a chance to reroute and make a play. He’s had some injuries in the past including a broken bone in the wrist of his throwing arm which lead to him being sidelined for a majority of the season and was plagued with injuries as a high school baseball player. One of the biggest red flags that is that he isn’t used to such high competition having been part of a Division-1AA college team along with only playing professional football since 2014.
While it might seem like Wentz has a lot of negatives, he has quite a few positives as well. One of the biggest advantages that Wentz has is that during his college career, he played under center. Most college quarterbacks usually aren’t accustomed to that when they first start in the NFL. Physically, he’s extremely tall with a good athletic build which will help during times of pressure. He is also known for using his legs, something that Goff isn’t known for but with the Eagles running game, he might not need it as much. He isn’t afraid to take a hit which is both a positive and negative, depending on how the Eagles look at it.
Deciding who is better is always difficult because neither has taken a snap yet. Neither have any character flaws really and neither had particularly great teams either. That’s what makes this decision so difficult because they’re pretty much on equal playing fields. However, I have to give the edge to Goff here, but I wouldn’t count out Wentz in a few years. Goff has played more recently than Wentz, has good receivers and an amazing running back and at age 21, he is younger than Wentz and will have some time to grow especially with the Rams basically starting over in Los Angeles.
