Before the 2018 NFL season, there was a growing legion of experts who predicted that Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz would win the NFL MVP award. The caveat was he would have to start Week 1 and be recovered from his torn ACL that he suffered in Week 13 in 2017. Had it not been for that injury, Wentz would have won the MVP award in 2017. The knee injury he suffered didn’t just impact his 2017 MVP campaign, it also impacted his 2018 season because Wentz missed the first two games.
Sadly, it wasn’t just the knee injury that hurt Wentz’s chances in 2018. The former No. 2 overall pick in the 2016 NFL draft sustained another season-ending injury after he was diagnosed with a stress fracture in his back.
Even though he returned from a torn ACL in less than a year and had a stress fracture in his back, some critics felt he didn’t play well. Those critics were wrong because Wentz played solid football in 2018. He played in 11 games, throwing for 3,074 yards, 21 touchdowns and only seven interceptions. If he played a full 16-game season, Wentz was on pace to end the year with 4,471 yards, 31 touchdowns and only 10 interceptions. He clearly wasn’t as magical as he was in 2017, but that was to be expected since he was returning from knee surgery and had the back injury for a couple of weeks before the team shut him down.
It was unknown how long the back injury would keep Wentz out this offseason, but the Eagles’ franchise quarterback was fully cleared for Day 1 of OTAs and was out on the field with no limitations. This is great news for Eagles fans, but terrible news for the rest of the NFL. A lot of people have written off Wentz already or have let his injury history cloud their memory of his ability on the field.
However, Wentz will remind everybody just how special he is in 2019, on his way to finally earning MVP honors when the season is over. Here are five reasons Wentz will win the award in 2019.
5. Wentz is healthy
Wentz is injury prone, and that is just a fact. A lot of people argue and say he isn’t, but the fact of the matters is that Wentz has been hurt in all three of his NFL seasons, including his senior year of college, too. It has been unfortunate that Wentz has struggled to stay healthy in the NFL, but it was one of my concerns before the 2016 draft.
Luckily for the Eagles, Wentz is currently healthy. The last time Wentz was healthy for the start of OTAs and throughout training camp was before the 2017 season. We all know what happened that year, so this is definitely an encouraging sign for the Eagles star’s chances to win MVP. He will need to stay healthy all 16 games this season if he is going to win.
4. The defense has the potential to be solid
Wentz should have plenty of opportunities to light up the stat sheet this year because his defense will get him the ball back a lot. All of the noise this year has been about the additions on offense, but the Eagles defense has quietly developed into a really solid group.
Philadelphia’s defensive line will be the strength of the defense. They are stacked at defensive tackle with Fletcher Cox, Malik Jackson, and Tim Jernigan. Those three will be an elite rotation and a real weapon on game day. Some people have questioned if the Eagles have enough at defensive end, but Brandon Graham, Derek Barnett, Vinny Curry, Shareef Miller, Josh Sweat, and Daeshon Hall is more than enough. Also, I predicted that Barnett is going to have a breakout year and make the Pro Bowl.
The linebacker corps was improved with the addition of Zach Brown and L.J. Fort, while the secondary is filled with depth. Malcolm Jenkins is clearly the star in the secondary, but Avonte Maddox is a star in the making, too.
The Eagles defense will be a big part of them winning football games this year, which will help Wentz win MVP.
3. The Offensive line is solidified and has depth
If a quarterback is going to be successful, you need to make sure he is protected and that is exactly what the Eagles did – and then some. The Eagles have Jason Peters and Lane Johnson at the tackle spots, but they selected Andre Dillard in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft, as well. Jason Kelce is the best center in football and he is back and ready to keep showing he will go down as one of the greatest draft picks in Eagles history. Brandon Brooks is recovering from Achilles surgery, but the Eagles have Isaac Seumalo and Stefen Wisniewski, who can both play center and guard if needed.
The Eagles offensive line is impressive and Wentz should sleep easy at night knowing he will be protected all year.
2. Miles Sanders, Jordan Howard, and Corey Clement
On paper, the Eagles have a really good running back committee. Second-round pick Miles Sanders should be the No. 1 back in the committee, with Howard and Clement also getting their fair share of touches.
Having such a good group at running back will be huge for Wentz in 2019 because teams will need to respect the fact that the Eagles can run the ball effectively. These running backs will help move the chains when they need to and Sanders and Clement will likely play a role in the passing game as well.
1. Weapons in the passing game
The Eagles have built a championship roster around Wentz, and more importantly, their team is built to ensure that Wentz can be successful. It is clear the Eagles are all-in on Wentz after spending big at receiver in 2019, which was the right move.
Wentz will have Alshon Jeffery, DeSean Jackson, Nelson Agholor, and 2019 second-round pick JJ Arcega-Whiteside as his top four receivers. Then you add the best tight end in football, Zach Ertz, and second-year tight end Dallas Goedert, who has a ton of potential, as well, and you see that Wentz has a lot of really good weapons.
Having an entire team he can trust is very rare in the NFL, but Wentz will be lucky enough to have that this season. Instead of worrying about his receivers dropping passes or his running backs not being able to pick up 1 yard, Wentz can focus on playing his game, which will take him to his first NFL MVP award.
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