So, he's a late bloomer. Lots of players are. He isn't the first and won't be the last. If you can't see the talent and the potential, there, then I don't know what to tell you. So he's a "rube" because he isn't from the East or a big city? Nice. Way to stereotype. Have you seen him play at all? So are you saying that you're happy with Fitz, Geno and Petty at QB and if the Jets get a chance to take a potential franchise QB they should just pass on him because they have Fitz and Geno? There may be other players who are bpa over Wentz in terms of readiness to play in the NFL, but looking at the draft projections, the only 2 players I see that would be more talented that could be sitting there at #20 are Jaylon Smith and Noah Spence. Smith may never be the same player and Spence may not be able to stay on the field and out of rehab or off of suspension.
It's pretty easy to see why he was under recruited. Wentz entered high school at 5-foot-8, 125 lbs. He grew two inches his sophomore year, then sprouted to 6-feet-3 and 170 pounds by his junior season. He didn't play quarterback as a junior because he was coming off of a baseball arm injury. He further grew to 6-foot-5, 200 lbs as a senior.
Thanks. I hadn't seen that about his size, but did know about his baseball injury that affected him his junior season.
Even at the early stages of the draft process I'd say there's no way he falls to us in the draft. Jerry Jones has been dying to find Romo's replacement. As much of a cluster fuck as Dallas can be, he couldn't get drafted into a better situation. He can go to a win now team and sit for at minimum a year with a top 5 receiver and a brick wall of an offensive line waiting for him when Romo retires.
Yes, I know Flacco was recruited by Pitt, then left to go to Delaware and many people said that if he couldn't hack it in Pitt and had to run to a D IA school that he would not succeed in the NFL. I was / will be proven right about Jameis Winston despite many people on here last year claiming to be experts that said he was going to suck and turn into JaMarcus Russell. I was right about Jamie Collins and right about Geno Smith. Why would ND St make a QB change when they won 3 straight National Championships? Regarding his recruitment: http://bismarcktribune.com/sports/c...cle_a9f0d1a8-6180-11e4-846e-63ce1bc183e9.html But I'm sure you already knew that seeing how you must have done so much research on him to have come to the conclusion that he is going to bust. ETA - I apologize, my comments weren't necessarily directed at you - I just happened to have quoted your post.
My point was small school QBs hitting it big in the NFL are a long shot, why is this such a point of contention? As for Jameis Winston, he was from a big school and who had won big time and who ended up as an #1 overall pick. The "many people" here (who viewed him as Jamarcus Russell 2.0) doesn't apply here (i.e. with me) as I had no problem with Winston: a scramble--going to his left--on 3rd down and firing a pass into a tiny sideline window for a 1st down vs. Notre Dame was all I needed to know about him. As for Jaime Collins in his "Johnny U" hi-top blacks at Hattiesburg, I too liked him esp. at that stage of the draft. As for Geno, I'll give you $1000 if you find one post from me that said grab him....even after many (inc. ESPN) who gushed after his indoor controlled 65 for 67 pro day. I saw him a number of times including vs. Syracuse in the Pinstriped Bowl in the wet snow and he was underwhelming. Myself, I've missed some names (Chance Warmack, OG, 'Bama....still is a starter) and have hit on others (the 20-yr.old undergrad Trai Turner, OG, LSU who I begged for and who is already a Pro Bowler) as well as David Carr whom a number here didn't want (while others wanted instead that dink & dunk, weak-armed putz from San Jose State--and whose name escapes me. Yes, I do look at them, even the small school'ers when I get a chance. As for the rest of your post, I don't know if you were talking to me (ref. to the sarcastic "seeing how you must have done so much research" comment) so I'll pass on that except to say that no one here said "bust." And fwiw, I've see the Bisons play.....recall when they knocked off (if memory serves me) Iowa St and K-State early in back-to-back seasons.....as well as the multi "College Game Day" shows they've staged in Fargo...fwiw
A small school prospect at any position is a long shot to make it to the NFL period. Unless you know that the success rate of QBs with first round grades drafted from big schools tends to be higher than that from small schools, the bold is not saying much. Just as coming at a big school is an advantage (see Mark Sanchez), coming from a small school is a major disadvantage for a QB prospect. The fact that Wentz is a consensus first round pick says a lot about his talent. If he ends up being the 1st QB off the board, he would have to been considered significantly more talented than his big school counterparts in the mind of a GM to overcome that level of competition gap.
If he's there and they like him in the interviews and scouting process I think it's pretty much a no brainer. Until you have a big time quarterback you need to keep taking them, where ever in the draft you find them, until you hit on one. Gailey seems like a good guy to develop a young quarterback behind a Fitzpatrick type player and he looks to be here for a long haul as a failed head coach with no desire to try it again. The aforementioned statement is incredibly important for a young quarterbacks development. Sanchez looked like he was making strides til we started making coordinator and offense changes left and right. Who knows if Sanchez would've developed? But all young quarterbacks sure as hell have a better chance developing if they stay with the same system. Alex Smith was horrible his first 7 years in the league... under 7 different coordinators and offenses. Peyton (while physical restraints played into it) struggled switching systems. It's too mental of a game to be changing shit up on these guys every other year.
This whole Wentz situation reminds me of the Eli draft year when Philip Rivers sky rocketed to the consensus number 2 over Big Ben in a matter of a few months. The analyst had Rivers as a mid round pick and then all of a sudden BOOM he was top 10 potential.
I saw a four-round mock by Chad Reuter tonight. It had the Jets taking Hackenberg in the second. Poor Stokes would have a stroke!!!! I'd just freak out.
