The 2016 NFL Draft is two months away, and the takes are flowing rapidly. The latest surrounds North Dakota State quarterback Carson Wentz. He has been projected to the San Francisco 49ers in some mock drafts, but has also been projected as high as the Cleveland Browns.
And now, Wentz is getting some serious projections. Mike Mayock is conducting his annual pre-Combine conference call, and he made references to Andrew Luck. He suggested Wentz is as athletic if not more so than Luck, and his ceiling is similar to that of Luck. Mayock acknowledged that he had not known anything about Wentz early on, but once he watched the tape, he loved what he saw.
Mayock says he didn't know anything about Wentz, watched his tape and Wentz blew him away. 6'5", 235 and athletic enough for designed runs.
— SB Nation NFL (@SBNationNFL) February 23, 2016
Earlier this month, Bucky Brooks mentioned that Wentz could be used in a fashion similar to that of Cam Newton.
"The comparison comes from watching Wentz play in the fall and watching him execute some of the concepts and tactics that Cam does for the Panthers," Brooks said. "Designed quarterback runs, powers, draw plays, some of the zone-read things, that leads me to believe a creative offensive coordinator could implement some of those things for him to take advantage of his unique athleticism for a guy his size."
It is safe to say the Combine and Pro Day workouts will lead to plenty of chatter one way or another with regard to Wentz. It seems like he is all but certain to go in the early portion of the draft. Some of the teams in the first half of the draft that might need to draft a quarterback include the Browns (#2), maybe the Cowboys (#4), the 49ers (#7), Rams (#15), and Eagles (#13). The Saints, Giants, and maybe Lions could use a developmental prospect at some point, but they seem unlikely to spend a first round pick on the position. But even if those three abstain, there are plenty of teams that could be looking strongly at Jared Goff and Carson Wentz.