Who's in on Carson Wentz? Coming off a torn ACL, he's a guy who many owners will avoid in fantasy drafts. Some of the same owners might shy away from him who will take a chance on Deshaun Watson, considering the huge upside the Texans quarterback displayed when on the field. Although in a larger number of games, Wentz delivered better per-start touchdown numbers than anyone.
Wentz tore his ACL later than Watson did, but he's also making great progress in his rehab. He's been cleared for 7-on-7 drills, and is impressing. Zach Ertz says Wentz's throws have "the same zip, if not more" than a year ago.
Obviously, Wentz didn't hurt his shoulder, so it's not entirely surprising that he can throw it as well as ever. There's a component involving him planting his foot and everything, but it's not the same as running around. The team isn't going to rush him, with the season still three months away.
But it all sounds good for the quarterback being ready for Week 1, and if so there's considerable value in fantasy leagues. Last year Wentz produced a total of over 2.5 TDs per start -- tops in the league among quarterbacks who started at least half the season.
| TOUCHDOWNS PER START (MINIMUM 8 GAMES) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Player | Avg | Rk |
| Carson Wentz | 2.54 | 1 |
| Russell Wilson | 2.31 | 2 |
| Tom Brady | 2.00 | 3 |
| Kirk Cousins | 1.94 | 4 |
| Jared Goff | 1.93 | 5 |
| Ben Roethlisberger | 1.87 | 6 |
| Matthew Stafford | 1.81 | 7 |
| Alex Smith | 1.80 | 8 |
| Josh McCown | 1.77 | 9 |
| Cam Newton | 1.75 | 10T |
| Philip Rivers | 1.75 | 10T |
| Dak Prescott | 1.75 | 10T |
| Case Keenum | 1.57 | 13 |
| Drew Brees | 1.56 | 14T |
| Andy Dalton | 1.56 | 14T |
| Jameis Winston | 1.54 | 16 |
| Derek Carr | 1.47 | 17 |
| Blake Bortles | 1.44 | 18 |
| Jay Cutler | 1.36 | 19 |
| Eli Manning | 1.33 | 20 |
| Matt Ryan | 1.25 | 21 |
| Brett Hundley | 1.22 | 22 |
| Marcus Mariota | 1.20 | 23 |
| Joe Flacco | 1.19 | 24 |
| Trevor Siemian | 1.18 | 25 |
| Tyrod Taylor | 1.14 | 26 |
| Jacoby Brissett | 1.13 | 27 |
| DeShone Kizer | 1.07 | 28 |
| Mitchell Trubisky | .75 | 29 |
(Watson, incidentally, would have been at the very top of this list if expanded to include quarterbacks who started only six games. He had 20 total TDs in his six starts -- 3.3 per game.)
In the Experts Draft in our preseason annual (at the printers now!), Watson was a sixth-round pick; Wentz a seventh, chosen 13 spots later. In the auction, Watson went for $16, Wentz $11. Come August, when everyone has had a chance to see them (or at least read about their progress; who knows if either will see the field in an exhibition game), those could look like pretty significant values. Both of them.
--Andy Richardson