With the NFL draft just over a month away, prospects like Carson Wentz and Jared Goff are getting hyped as the top quarterbacks in the 2016 class. The major debates this year is whether Goff or Wentz will be the first quarterback off the board and which teams will go after those players.
The Cleveland Browns, Dallas Cowboys, San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams are some of the teams that could go after a quarterback in the first round. The Browns have been projected to take Goff in many mock drafts, but the team is also flirting with other options at quarterback, like Robert Griffin III and Colin Kaepernick. Wentz is also reportedly an intriguing target for the Browns after meeting with the team at the Senior Bowl.
The Browns are expected to go after a quarterback with the number two pick, and while Goff appears to be the likely option, the interview and workout process could push Wentz ahead. The Cowboys are searching for a long-term backup plan for Tony Romo and could consider Goff or Wentz if they are on the board at number four. The 49ers and Rams also are looking for quarterback options and could consider those players if they are available along with Paxton Lynch from Memphis.
Goff came out of the college football season as the number one quarterback for most scouts, but that has shifted a bit since workouts began for prospects. Wentz has impressed teams with his size, and that could end up being one of the main reasons why he could get drafted over Goff. Wentz comes in at 6-foot-5, 234 pounds, a bit bigger and taller than Goff at 6-foot-4, 215 pounds.
Goff has more impressive stats than Wentz after playing at California in the Pac-12. The quarterback threw for more than12,000 yards in his career with 96 touchdowns, including 43 last season. Wentz has a smaller sample size with 45 touchdowns and just more than 5,000 passing yards in his North Dakota State career, but part of that was due to injuries.
NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock thinks that the two can be as good as or better than Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota, who went 1-2 last year to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Tennessee Titans.
"The statement I'm going to make to you guys, and you can tell me whether you agree or not, is I'm at the point now with both Wentz and Goff where I think they're every bit as good, if not better, than Winston and Mariota from a year ago as prospects," Mayock said.
While Wentz is coming from a Football Championship Subdivision school, many other players, including quarterbacks, have found success in the league coming from that level. Joe Flacco and Tony Romo are two current starters that came from FBS schools, and that should be evidence enough that sometimes the level of competition doesn't matter.
Either way, Wentz should be a first round pick this year.
