NFL | Rams deal to get top pick; may get Eagles off Wentz scent

Carson Wentz led North Dakota State to a 5th straight FCS title this past season.

Thank you, Los Angeles Rams.
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By making that trade with the Tennessee Titans to acquire the No. 1 pick in the upcoming NFL Draft, you have alleviated my concerns about the Eagles attempting to wheel and deal their way into a spot that … would possibly derail them for years to come.

Not for nothing, but me buying the Carson Wentz hype ain’t happening. Not now. Not ever … unless he ultimately proves my gut instinct is way off on this one with years of success at the pro level. Hey, the Rams, assumed to be in need of both a franchise quarterback much like the Birds and a splash move to highlight their move from St. Louis back to the big stage, can have him, and good luck to them.

Him possibly falling to the Birds at No. 8, or earlier should they have moved up via trade to get him, just seemed a trainwreck in waiting for the Philly franchise as it continues to seek the reboot on an Andy Reid-Donovan McNabb era that made the league’s most hypochondriac fan base border on being cocky a lot of years.

Yo, Dougie P and Howie the G(M), give it a rest. There are other ways to get good.

Even other QBs to lead you in that direction, too.

A big kid who looks the part of a prime-timer behind center, Wentz has seen his stock skyrocket with player-personnel experts who have based their giddiness on a week of Senior Bowl practices, the combine and an individual workout instead of his nice – not special – college career at a school that dominates others at its FCS level.

In four years at North Dakota State, including two as a starter, with last season being cut in half due to injury, the 6-foot-6, 235-pounder threw for 5,115 yards, 45 touchdowns and 14 interceptions while completing 64.1 percent of his 612 passing attempts.

Decent, but reads more like a single season for the likes of former first-round flop David Klinger.

To me, you got better prospects in Jared Goff and Paxton Lynch, both of whom played at a higher level than Wentz and certainly put up more impressive numbers. None of them, though, offer the athletic skill set of a McNabb, or, frankly, a guy like Ben Roethlisberger, despite the comparisons of Wentz to him.

But Lynch, at least, has special arm talent, able to make every throw with zip or touch, and maybe now the Birds’ braintrust can refocus on him with Wentz, whom they reportedly “love,” now out of the mix – a surefire selection of the Rams in the top spot.

That is, if rumors that they made this trade to get Goff instead are unfounded.

Wait … WHAT?!!

So much for those concerns being alleviated.

- Jack Kerwin  |  ydkjack1@gmail.com

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(Wentz) possibly falling to the Birds at No. 8, or earlier should they have moved up via trade to get him, just seemed a trainwreck in waiting for the Philly franchise as it continues to seek the reboot on an Andy Reid-Donovan McNabb era that made the league’s most hypochondriac fan base border on being cocky a lot of years.

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