By Ryan Shute, Sports Talk Philly staff writer
If you are browsing through the Eagles record book during this bye week to pass some time, you will read that Carson Wentz is already in the Top 5 in all rookie passing categories. When you look at some the numbers closely, Wentz is easily projected to shatter each and every one of the rookie records and be the greatest Eagles rookie quarterback of all-time.
Since the NFL expanded to a 16-game regular season, the Eagles have never had a rookie quarterback play all 16 games, making Wentz’s projections unprecedented.
Nick Foles is the franchise leader in most categories including the single-season rookie records of 161 completions, 265 passing attempts and 1,699 passing yards. Foles also holds the record for best single-game performances in passing yards with 381 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Dec. 9, 2012 where he also became the leader in single-game completions with 32. Foles also duplicated the number of completions against the Washington Redskins on Dec. 23, 2012, making that game’s total technically stand as the record.
Wentz could possibly break all three of the single-game passing performance records in just one game of work if he can complete 33 passes for 382 yards and throw for four touchdowns, breaking Donovan McNabb’s touchdown record of three.
But Wentz doesn’t have to get it all done at once. He has 13 games to do it any way he can to become the leader.
Wentz isn’t just pushing to etch his name in the Eagles rookie record book, but is also chasing NFL rookie quarterback history.
The charts below indicate what the rookie record book could look like based on projecting Wentz’s stats over 16 games.
Most Completions by a Rookie in a Single Season |
|
Carson Wentz, Philadelphia Eagles, 2016 |
357 |
Sam Bradford, St. Louis Rams, 2010 |
354 |
Derek Carr, Oakland Raiders, 2014 |
348 |
Highest Completion Percentage by a Rookie in a Single Season |
|
Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh Steelers, 2004 |
66.44 |
Robert Griffin III, Washington Redskins, 2012 |
65.65 |
Carson Wentz, Philadelphia Eagles, 2016 |
64.70 |
Most Passing Yards by a Rookie in a Single Season |
|
Andrew Luck, Indianapolis Colts, 2012 |
4374 |
Carson Wentz, Philadelphia Eagles, 2016 |
4101 |
Cam Newton, Carolina Panthers, 2011 |
4051 |
Most Passing Touchdowns by a Rookie in a Single Season |
|
Carson Wentz, Philadelphia Eagles, 2016 |
27* |
Peyton Manning, Indianapolis Colts, 1998 Russel Wilson, Seattle Seahawks, 2012 |
26 |
Andrew Luck, Indianapolis Colts, 2012 |
23 |
*Notes the touchdown total is rounded to the nearest whole number from actual number of 26.6
And by the way, Wentz is also currently on pace to win 16 regular season games as a rookie, but that kind of success would hinge on the entire team and Wentz's own performances down the road.