For the second straight year, the Philadelphia Eagles watched starting signal caller Carson Wentz go down with a season-ending injury. After tearing his anterior cruciate ligament in his knee in 2017, Wentz suffered a back injury in 2018, ending his campaign after just 11 games. In those 11 games, Wentz led the Eagles to a 5-6 record, but Wentz was en route to posting the highest completion percentage of his career. The Eagles’ brass was adamant that Wentz was their guy, despite some magical runs through the winter for Nick Foles , and with the latter jettisoning to Jacksonville, the earlier sentiments were raised that Wentz is their guy. And honestly, rightfully so.

Before the unfortunate, ill-timed torn ACL in 2017, Wentz was in the midst of a top-tier fantasy season and MVP campaign. In 2018, his numbers weren’t that far off from that excellent 2017 season. See for yourself.

YEAR

Cmp%

Int%

Yards per Attempt

QBR

Net Yards Gained per Attempt

2017 (13 games)

60.2%

1.6%

7.5

77.2

6.70

2018 (11 games)

69.6%

1.7%

6.2

64.9

6.65


Sure, some of those numbers are a bit far off, but all in all, considering the fact that he swapped some long passes for some check downs, it’s understandable that the yards per attempt metric was down and the completion percentage was vastly increased. The difference in the fantasy output between these two seasons was that Wentz’s touchdown rate in 2017 was 7.5 percent, and fell to 5.2 percent in 2018. That’s a big difference!

So, where is all the love for Wentz in 2019? Yes, back-to-back season-ending injuries are chinks in the armor, but Wentz has been fantasy gold when healthy! If he meets in the middle of his 2017 and 2018 seasons, we are looking at a top-10 quarterback in 2019. Furthermore, his supporting cast has strengthened from last season.

In 2018, Wentz threw the football to Zach Ertz , Alshon Jeffery , Nelson Agholor and Dallas Goedert .

Since Wentz last took the field for the Eagles, Goedert advanced his game, the team drafted wideout JJ Arcega-Whiteside and running back Miles Sanders, and traded for Jordan Howard . Also, they brought back some guy named DeSean Jackson who is one of the most established deep threats in the game.

The Eagles rushing attack was bad in 2018, but the additions of Howard and Sanders should boost that run game, which just might be the missing link to get Wentz closer to the 2017 version of himself, compared to the statistical output in 2018. An improved rushing attack will set up the play action, and Wentz was excellent on play action passes last season. His 74.8 percent completion percentage on these plays was the third-best mark in the National Football League, and only Philip Rivers and Jared Goff averaged more yards per attempt on play action passes than Wentz last season. The additions of Jackson and rookie Arcega-Whitesite should further accentuate these numbers, assuming that Howard and Sanders can revitalize the run game.

Additionally, Wentz was excellent in the red zone, posting an 18:1 TD/INT ratio inside the opponents’ 20-yard line last season. Goedert’s development and the imposing size of rookie Arcega-Whiteside should give Wentz the resources he needs to continue such prowess near pay dirt. However, he doesn’t boast the easiest strength of schedule, as he faces numerous top pass defenses, but there is no doubting that the young quarterback has the skillset to succeed in even the toughest of matchups.

Wentz is currently being selected as the ninth quarterback off the board in the NFFC, coming in at a whopping 57 picks behind top quarterback Patrick Mahomes . With the glowing reports out of camp that he is dealing with no limitations or restrictions, his average draft position (ADP) should inflate as draft season beings to heat up. However, at his current price, he’s an absolute steal, considering he has the upside to push into that top echelon of fantasy gunslingers. Whatever he can add with his legs will be a bonus, and while the Eagles likely try to contain him from running an excessive amount, he could get to 225 rushing yards with two or three touchdowns this season. If so, tack that on to his 30-some touchdown passes and we got ourselves a top performer!

Health willing, Wentz will throw for 30+ touchdowns in 2019.

Statistical Credits:
profootballfocus.com
https://nfc.shgn.com/adp/football
pro-football-reference.com