Pederson Sees Some Favre In Carson Wentz


Carson Wentz. (USA Today Sports)

Carson Wentz. (USA Today Sports)

During the pre-draft process, there were comparisons to Andrew Luck, Ben Roethlisberger and Cam Newton. Lance Zierlein of NFL.com thinks he’s closest to Blake Bortles. CBS Sports went with Alex Smith.

When Doug Pederson was asked who Carson Wentz reminds him of, the Eagles head coach shot for the stars.

“A little bit of Brett Favre, honestly,” said Pederson without hesitation. “He’s got that mentality, he’s got that aggressiveness that Brett had. Those are some of the skill sets that I see in Carson — that aggression, that ability to throw the ball down the field. And listen, I love quarterbacks that are willing to take a chance, take a calculated risk down the field. Favre was that way, and I see a lot of those same characteristics in Carson.”

High praise being linked to the 11-time Pro Bowler and first-ballot Hall of Famer — praise that hit home for the 23-year-old out of North Dakota.

“It’s pretty unbelievable hearing that,” said Wentz during a conference call with the Philly media. “Growing up, Farve has always been my favorite guy to watch — just his mentality, the way he played the game, the way he approached the game; had fun with it; his grittiness, hard-working attitude. I just loved everything about watching him play. And being compared, obviously I have a long way to go, but it’s pretty cool hearing that.”

Miles and miles to go, but not a bad career to chase after (minus all those interceptions). Favre is first all-time in career completions and attempts, and second in passing yards and touchdowns.

He also holds the iron man streak with 297 consecutive starts. Staying upright is no easy feat at this level. Asked what his young quarterback needs improvement on, Pederson led with the fact that Wentz — who missed eight games this past season with a broken wrist —  must learn how to protect himself.

“I love his aggressiveness when he’s running out of the pocket. I think it’s part of who he is, it’s part of his chemistry, but in the National Football League there is going to come a time when you have to get down or out of bounds. And those are some things that he’ll learn as he goes.

“Other than that, he’s got the skill set. Timing and accuracy are always things that you continue to work on from an NFL perspective, speed of the game, all of those things you learn as a young quarterback. I was one of those guys 100 years ago and you catch up really fast.”

But the Eagles will take their time with Wentz — at least that’s the plan. Howie Roseman reiterated that they will not trade Sam Bradford and plan to have him as the starter.

Wentz will be groomed in the meantime. Roseman said that Wentz was the No. 1 player on their board, and believes he has everything they’re looking for in a quarterback.

“Rare intangibles. A 40 [Wonderlic] score, valedictorian of his high school class; never got a ‘B’. So that’s important with that work ethic. And then he’s got rare physical skills: the athletic ability, the throwing arm, the body type, and he’s just kind of someone who can be molded into whatever you want. And when you have the coaches that we have and the support system that we have, it’s exciting,” said Roseman, who called Wentz a “blue-collar quarterback” that the city of Philadelphia will identify with.

“One player can change your team. And for us, we know how important that is, that position. So investing in that position was a no-brainer.”