PHILADELPHIA _ Richard Rodgers isn't a scout or a scribe. He does not get paid by the click. He does not have hundreds of hours of dead air to fill during the most boring stretch of the sporting calendar. So it makes sense that he does not really care whether or not the prevailing conventional wisdom acknowledges just how good his quarterback is.
"It doesn't change the way we do our job," the Eagles tight end said.
That being said, Rodgers is one of a small handful of people in this world who has spent four years of his life catching footballs from one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play the game, which makes his opinion worth considering. This is especially true after an offseason in which more than a few folks seem to have forgotten just how dynamic Carson Wentz can be.
A recent poll of NFL players had Wentz ranked behind a long list of quarterbacks that included Baker Mayfield, DeShaun Watson, and even Kirk Cousins. Another survey of NFL coaches and talent evaluators rated Wentz as a "second-tier" quarterback, a level below the realm of traditional elites like Tom Brady, Andrew Luck, Drew Brees, and, most relevantly, Aaron Rodgers, with whom Richard Rodgers shared a huddle for four seasons before signing with the Eagles as a free agent in 2018.
Meanwhile, on the homefront, there are pockets of the fan base from which there drifts a slight sense of unease that the Eagles chose to say goodbye to Nick Foles and then hand Wentz a four-year contract extension.
Granted, none of this rises to the level of a 2000s hip-hop diss track, but it does suggest that a refresher is in order. Because two years ago, Wentz wasn't just playing like an elite quarterback _ he was playing like an all-timer. When Wentz tore up his knee with three games remaining in the 2017 regular season, he was on pace to finish with 4,068 passing yards and 40 touchdowns, numbers that only eight quarterbacks in NFL history had reached: Dan Marino, Kurt Warner, Peyton Manning, Brady, Matthew Stafford, Aaron Rodgers, Brees, and Luck. He was on pace to finish with under 10 interceptions, something that, within the 4,000/40 club, only Aaron Rodgers and Brady had done.
It wasn't just the numbers. It was the way he accumulated them. Fifty% of the passes he threw on third down went for first downs, the best mark in the league. In fact, there wasn't a down and distance where the Eagles were left for dead. His 17 first-down throws on third-and-10+ were second only to Brady. His 137.5 quarterback rating in those situations was the best in the game by far.
"I think when you have guys like Carson, and Aaron, and all the great quarterbacks in the league, you can tell right away," said Richard Rodgers, who caught 120 passes for 1,166 yards and 13 touchdowns during his four seasons in Green Bay. "They pick up things, they know what's going on on defense, they know where to put the ball on point all the time."
He still remembers the first time he saw Aaron Rodgers throw a pass, 2014 OTAs, a deep post to Jordy Nelson, the combination of power, precision, and sheer mechanical beauty leaving him in awe.
"I thought, yeah, this is another level of football," Richard Rodgers said.
That's the level where Wentz will be when all is said and done. In fact, he might already be there. One of the great misconceptions from last season holds that Wentz was far too ordinary for what the Eagles need him to be. It stems mostly from the fact that they lost six of his 11 starts. But the guy's 16-game pace was 4,472 yards, 30 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions, numbers that only five quarterbacks have ever equaled or bettered in a season: Brady four times, Matt Ryan and Manning twice, and Ben Roethlisberger and Rodgers once.
"I mean, he's pretty much there already," Richard Rodgers said. "He's just coming off an injury, he's working back, but he looks great right now. He's definitely a high caliber player. There's nothing mediocre about him."
Not that anyone is accusing Wentz of mediocrity. There are probably some skeptics still remaining out there, but it is hard to believe they are anything other than a small minority. Still, I don't get the sense that a critical mass of football watchers fully appreciate what they've seen out of the guy over the last couple of seasons. He is one of 15 quarterbacks to throw at least 70 touchdown passes in his first 40 career starts. He is one of 13 to throw for at least 10,000 yards. And he is one of seven to do both, joining Rodgers, Manning, Warner, Stafford, Marino, and Tony Romo.
Again, this isn't strictly about numbers. Go back and watch Wentz's highlight film from the past couple of seasons. On each play, list the number of other quarterbacks you've seen who were capable of what Wentz pulled off. In 2017, he was Patrick Mahomes before Mahomes was Mahomes. And in 2018, he was better in a "down" year than most quarterbacks are in their up years.
The health questions are fair, but overblown. Besides Sam Bradford, name one quarterback who failed to live up to his potential because of chronic injury problems. Stafford was hurt in each of his first two seasons in the league and has not missed a game since. Wentz will be fine. His best health is still in front of him, as is his best football.
I'd tell you to run down to the sports book and buy an MVP ticket while the buying is good. Except Vegas already has Wentz with the fifth-best MVP odds. The sharps have a good handle on where he ranks. By the end of the season, everyone else will, too.
