Rankings are subjective. If you ask 10 people to rank their top 10 presidents or top 10 NFL quarterbacks, you are likely to receive 10 different answers. The one thing most NFL fans can agree on is Tom Brady’s place in league history.
Who are the top NFL quarterbacks today? Brady remains at or near the top; Aaron Rodgers, Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen would all make most people’s top five.
Ahead of Week 1, several websites offered their own power rankings of the NFL’s quarterbacks. And to no one’s surprise, Washington Commanders quarterback Carson Wentz wasn’t a popular choice.
Here are some of Wentz’s rankings:
- FiveThirtyEight: No. 34
- NBC Sports: No. 26
- NFL.com: No. 20
- CBS: No. 22
- The Ringer: No. 27
Ok, of those rankings, you can see where NFL.com and CBS could rank Wentz from No. 20 – No. 22. That’s fair. But, FiveThirtyEight and The Ringer ranking Wentz between 27 and 34 is borderline ridiculous.
Let’s just look at some of the names ahead of Wentz in these various rankings: C.J. Beathard, Nick Mullens, Drew Lock, Geno Smith, Nick Foles, Colt McCoy, Daniel Jones, Teddy Bridgewater, Mac Jones, Tua Tagovailoa, Gardner Minshew and Davis Mills. Sure, someone will say, “Hey, Foles was better in Philadelphia.” Ok, Foles led the Eagles to the Super Bowl, but he has failed in every attempt to establish himself as a long-term starting quarterback.
Tagovailoa, Mills and Mac Jones are promising young passers with lots to prove. Daniel Jones is in the same boat but has a new lease on life with new head coach Brian Daboll. Minshew has shown plenty of promise in his opportunities, but how would he perform over a 17-game season?
McCoy and Keenum, players Washington fans know well, are journeyman backups. Yes, both have started and experienced success but are severely limited.
Bridgewater has had a nice career, but he’s not better than Wentz. Come on.
Beathard, Mullens, Lock and Smith? Seriously?
We know Wentz has his issues. Most quarterbacks outside the top group all have issues. Kirk Cousins and Dak Prescott are fine quarterbacks, but they are dependent upon what’s around them.
In his first game for Washington in Week 1, Wentz displayed the ups and downs he’s known for. He looked terrific in leading the Commanders to a 14-3 lead. Then, in the second half, threw two consecutive interceptions that led to 10 points by the Jaguars. How did he respond? With his best two drives of the day to lead Washington to the win. So, for the day, Wentz passed for 313 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions.
Perfect? Of course not. Good? Yes.
Since Wentz departed Philadelphia, he’s become something of a punching bag for some. When the Colts traded him in March, it became a national pastime for some in the media to rip Wentz on a moment’s notice.
Check out this from Sunday.
CARSON WENTZ IS WHO WE THOUGHT HE WASpic.twitter.com/icjjpDSrfb
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) September 11, 2022
Keep in mind, Sharp tweeted something similar in the preseason. THE PRESEASON.
And do you think Sharp followed up his initial tweet after Wentz did this:
Carson Wentz long! Touchdown @Commanders! 🙌
📺: #JAXvsWAS on FOX
📱: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/mY4ew2vyFN pic.twitter.com/eNpF0Xdve9— NFL (@NFL) September 11, 2022
Or this:
Yo this rookie is the real deal
📺 FOX #HTTC pic.twitter.com/6dHneR0vy4
— Washington Commanders (@Commanders) September 11, 2022
Of course not.
And if you think Sharp is the only one who enjoys firing off negative tweets at Wentz’s expense, well, he isn’t.
One problem with social media today is the number of people who fancy themselves as “experts.” There is more data than ever at our expense, which is wonderful, but sometimes, some people get stuck on an opinion of a player and can never explain why.
It feels like prerequisites to be a social media QB guru are crediting everyone but Cousins for his success, trashing Wentz at every turn and never being allowed to question Lamar Jackson’s ability as a passer. And before we go there, Jackson is great, but if we question some of the others, it’s fair to question Jackson.
But this isn’t about Jackson or Cousins. Jackson is a legitimate top-10 quarterback and Cousins falls right outside the top 10.
Where does Wentz actually rank? Who knows. But he’s not below Nick Mullens or C.J. Beathard. Or, some of the others we previously mentioned. Wentz has a lot to prove. Will he have multiple “Wentz-like” meltdowns in 2022 that he can’t recover from? That’s quite possible.
The Commanders acquired Wentz knowing he was far from perfect. But the tools are there, and Washington has a nice roster of receivers, running backs, tight ends and an offensive line that rivals any Wentz has ever played with. That matters.
Who knows how Wentz finishes in 2022. But he deserves the chance without being shamed for every mistake. Other quarterbacks don’t face the same scrutiny.
