Comparing Carson Wentz’s first 23 games to other top quarterbacks

By: Jesse Larch, Sports Talk Philly editor 

Carson Wentz has been on a roll over his last three games, and has vaulted himself into the national spotlight after two great performances in primetime. 

Wentz leads the NFL in touchdown passes and has become a legitimate MVP candidate because of his strong play. With Wentz putting his name among the best quarterbacks in the NFL, I took the time to compare Wentz's first 23 starts to the first 23 starts of other quarterbacks, both from the past and present. 

The lists are broken up into four parts: All-time greats, greats of the current era, young franchise quarterbacks, and Eagles' greats. Without further adieu, let's get started.

All-Time Greats

In the all-time greats list I have included Dan Marino, Brett Favre, Joe Montana, and John Elway. They are not the only ones that could be included here, but I did not went to venture too far into the past. As you will see with this list there is a bit of a disparity in pass attempts by era. If I pulled names from further in the past that gap would likely widen. 

If Wentz's MVP praise holds up he would become the first second-year player to win the MVP since Marino did in 1984. Interestingly, Wentz's head coach Doug Pederson spent time throughout his playing career with the likes of Marino and Favre and has compared Wentz to the two. I saw this with Marino, I saw it with Brett Favre. He makes everyone around him better."

With this comparison it is easy to see how Marino won the MVP in just his second year. Of the five quarterbacks he threw the least interceptions and 20 more touchdowns than both Wentz and Montana. The most shocking part is that Marino did this with the second fewest number of pass attempts. 

The fewest number of pass attempts belongs to John Elway. Elway's first 23 starts are a reminder to not jump to conclusions. The Super-Bowl champion started his career very poorly, with more interceptions than touchdowns thrown, and the fewest touchdowns and most interceptions of any other on the list. 

Wentz threw for 258 yards more than the next closest, but he did it with 98 more pass attempts than anyone else. Wentz has completed more passes than anyone else, but he has the second lowest completion percentage. These numbers reflect a change of philosophy in terms of passing in the NFL exemplified by the volume of Wentz's usage.

Even with all of those extra pass attempts only Marino has thrown less interceptions than Wentz through 23 starts, and Wentz threw 216 more passes than Marino.

Greats of the Current Era 

In our "Greats of the Current Era" section you will see Wentz's first 23 starts compared to the first 23 starts of Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Peyton Manning, and Drew Brees.

Wentz has only faced Rodgers in his career, on Monday Night Football last season in 27-13 defeat for Wentz and the Eagles. Wentz has adopted much of Drew Brees's preparation strategies that were passed to him by former Eagles' backup quarterback Chase Daniel. Daniel played with Brees in New Orleans and was tasked with acclimating Wentz to the NFL in his rookie season. 

With this group the pass attempt numbers are closer together than the "All-Time Greats" list, so we have a bit more of a level playing field when comparing these five. 

Once again Wentz has the most completions and pass attempts, and once again Wentz threw the second fewest interceptions. Peyton Manning set the rookie record for interceptions in a season, so like Elway there is a bit of a disparity from the first 23 starts to the rest of the career. Manning did throw more touchdowns than any other on this list, and more yards than Wentz.

Manning and Rodgers both threw for more yards than Wentz. Rodgers first 23 games were about as ridiculous as Marino's. He did not throw as many touchdowns but only threw one more interception with 138 more pass attempts while rushing for over 1,000 yards. 

Drew Brees had the worst begining to his career of the five, and now he is undoubtedly an elite quarterback. Like with the last list, every name on this list being compared to Wentz is bound for the hall of fame.

Young Franchise Quarterbacks

This sections compares Wentz's first 23 starts with the first 23 starts of other young quarterbacks around the league who are considered to be a "franchise QB." This list includes Marcus Mariota, Andrew Luck, Cam Newton, Russell Wilson, Jameis Winston, and Dak Prescott.

Wentz has never played Mariota, Luck, or Winston in an NFL regular season game. He is 1-0 against Newton, 0-1 against Wilson, and 1-1 against Prescott who he figures to be compared to throughout his career with them playing in the middle of the Eagles-Cowboys rivalry. Prescott has only had 22 starts in his career, so his statistics have one less game compared to the rest.

Wentz was named NFC Offensive Player of the Week in week seven, the second time he has won the award. Wentz joins Newton and Wilson as the only three players to win the award twice in their first two seasons over the last 25 years.

All of these quarterbacks began their career around the same time Wentz did and are for all intents and purposes the future of quarterback in the NFL, while it could be argued that some are the present as well. 

Andrew Luck is the only quarterback who threw more passes than Wentz in his first 23 starts. Wentz has been more accurate than Luck over his first 23 starts, but Luck threw and rushed for more yards and ran for more touchdowns. Wentz threw less interceptions. 

Prescott is the only quarterback to throw less interceptions on this list with Marcus Mariota equaling Wentz's total. Prescott also threw and ran for more touchdowns than Wentz with one less game to his resume. They are nearly identical in completion percentage and Wentz has thrown for 541 more yards. If I had to pick one to build a team around Wentz gets my pick but Dak's production is undeniable, and in some areas better than Wentz. 

When compared to quarterbacks in his generation Wentz has the second fewest passing touchdowns, and only Cam Newton threw for less. Newton did run for 15 more touchdowns at this point in his career, however. 

Eagles' Greats

In the "Eagles' Greats" section Wentz has his first 23 career starts compared to the first 23 career starts of Donovan McNabb, Randall Cunningham, and Ron Jaworski.

Wentz has no connection to the other three players in this category, aside from the jersey that they all wore and that Wentz's head coach Doug Pederson mentored Donovan McNabb in the early stage of his career, similarly to how Daniel did in Wentz's rookie year. Wentz and McNabb were both second overall selections in their draft year, the only two times that the Eagles have used a first round pick on a quarterback in the last 44 years.

McNabb and Jaworski are the only two quarterbacks in Eagles' history to play in a Super Bowl – McNabb in 2004 and Jaworski in 1981. The Eagles lost both games. Jaworski's first three NFL starts were with the Los Angeles Rams before getting his shot with the Eagles. 

When Carson Wentz is compared to the greatest quarterbacks to wear an Eagles helmet, he is head and shoulders the best passer. He has a better completion percentage by nearly five points over the next closest. He has 995 more yards over the next closest, and he has more passing touchdowns and less interceptions than any other. 

Where the other quarterbacks in Eagles' history eclipse Wentz is in rushing. The Eagles have been fortunate to have two of the better dual threat quarterbacks in league history in the form of Randall Cunningham and Donovan McNabb. Cunningham ran for over 1,000 yards in his first 23 starts and Donovan McNabb ran for 889 yards. Cunningham, McNabb, and Jaworski all ran for 7 touchdowns in their first 23 starts while Wentz only ran for two. 

This list is not to say Wentz is better or worse than any of the quarterbacks that he is compared to, but it is interesting to see how the beginning of his career has fared when put next to other quarterbacks. These stats could tell us something about his future, or nothing about his future like in the cases with Drew Brees and John Elway. 

One thing is for sure after 23 games, Carson Wentz is every bit the franchise quarterback that he was hyped up to be after just 23 starts.